New Emperor
by RusEmp
Summary: The galaxy has seen a lot of wars. Empires were born and crumbled with time because of different reasons. And Danny would like to take the chances in a big game. Will the corrupt Republic stand against him or will it crumble?
1. Chapter I: An interesting offer

"The specimen is getting away! Shut close the exits!"

That order was yelled by a dark skinned man in completely white suit and sunglasses, with an unusual silver gun in his hands. Near him were ten more agents in the same clothing and with a very same weponry. One of the agents didn't wait long before completing the order and closing a metal door. The rest of the agents took their defending positions and hid in cover, pointing their guns towards the dark corridor ahead.

Not a sound. It was too quiet for such a situation, when an enraged creature was out for blood. Only blaring red light bulbs emitted a slight humming sound. Surrounding atmosphere made the agents feel uncomfortable, and wish that they had picked another job. The one without constant threat to their lives.

And then they saw it. Two bright neon green orbs for eyes, shining in darkness. The eyes which desired nothing but tear the agents apart. An animalistic growl sent chills down their spines and made some of them shake in fear.

"Enough, Phantom!" The captain shouted, "Return back to your camera and we might forget about this act of rebellion!"

"What was that?" A deep echoing and sarcastical voice sounded across the corridor. "Since when GIW makes offers? Ah yes, since you made your white pants yellow."

A green shining ball appeared, lightening Phantom's hand. The agents raised their weapons, but didn't have time to shoot. Before they could do anything, Phantom came closer and his blast went through someone's body and he fell on the ground, dead. And here the agents understood that everything was serious. He wasn't joking. Agents started to fire with green light, but Phantom grabbed one of the agents and used him as living shield, blasts hitting him dead on, with the ghost being completely unscathed. The agent screamed in pain. Even if blasts can't kill a human, they could harm if needed level of energy is amplified. And the agents' orders were to vaporize the ghost.

"Oh, quit whining!" Phantom rolled his eyes, "You said that your weapons can't kill a human, so don't complain."

He threw the agent's body at two others, making them fall on the ground. Phantom created a green shield, which effectively blocked the shots. Then he raised his hand, clenched the fist, and all the bulbs blew up, covering everything in darkness. The shield dispersed and everything the agents could do was to shoot at where the glowing eyes were. But constant yells told that it wasn't going well. The captain got his final answer when his neck was grabbed in strong and harsh grip.

"Now, if you answer my question then we both will benefit," Phantom said, his fist igniting with green light and giving the captain a good look at his captor.

He was dressed in black and white rags which used to be a hazmat suit a few months ago. Now it was just a pile of rags hanging from his body, exposing multitude of wounds on Phantom's chest, legs and hands. He had hair as white as snow, but their color was tamed with dirt and red and green blood. For three months without proper treatment they grew two times longer, becoming an unkept mess, which made Phantom look very feral, they even seemed to flow a bit. As was previously said, his eyes were neon green, his mouth was twisted in snarl, and two sharp fangs were seen in his mouth.

"What...do you want?" The captain choked.

"You know perfectly well what I want," Phantom said, tightening his grip. "Where. Is. It?"

"Argh! Back off...scum!"

"That was the last mistake in your life."

Phantom let go of the captain and he fell on the ground, gasping for breath until the ghost sent a powerful blast into his head. He didn't see any problem in killing GIW agents, it was upright merciful compared to what they did, at least he was killing them quickly, without painful torture, like they did to him. Just this three months ago he would be terrified of even thinking about murdering a sentient being, but GIW were a disgrace for human kind, and if he doesn't kill them now, they will kill hundreds of innocents in the future.

His name was Danny, Danny Fenton, but that was the name written in his birth certificate. He didn't consider himself Fenton anymore, he didn't want to be a part of that wretched family. He wasn't sure he was at least part human anymore, and honestly, he wasn't bothered by it. Humans hadn't given him anything but hatred. They despised the one who risked his half-life to save them, instead of thanks they complained about the damage. Such hypocrites, GIW had blown up the entire buildings, but in their eyes they were heroes. In that way, Phantom will be happy to take the role of a 'villain' if this means wiping out them all and also someone else.

Fenton seniors better hide in deepest hole they can find, because they were next. Those bastards deserved to die if not more then just as much as GIW agency. They killed the only people he cared about...and even Vlad. His best friend Tucker, his older sister Jazz, and Sam...He didn't even have time to tell her about his feelings. That was supposed to be the day, he planned to tell Sam that he loved her, but now...

He came to the metal door and grabbed its bottom, but it started to shock him with green electricity. With a grunt of Phantom continued nevertheless. He couldn't explain this, it was like something was giving him strength and numbing his pain. It was not the time to think about it, he had a job to do. To escape from this stinking place, taking the lives of as much agents as he could on his way. With a loud scream Danny pushed the door up and the hallway was opened. Even if he was dying from starvation, his ghostly strength helped him.

Phantom raised his white eyebrow, "What, no one to greet me?"

The hallway was empty. It could be because GIW were too arrogant and thought that that door could hold him. But that was unlikely, they were morons but not completely. Phantom stomped through the corridor, his pointed ears listened for a slightest movement, but heard nothing. He didn't know where to go, he went where his gut was telling him to go. And it led him to another door. Phantom threw a punch with a roar and made a hole in it, before expanding it so he could come through.

"Here's Johnny!" He said in singsong voice with a wide grin.

And again empty. That started to look suspicious. The main target of his search was right in front of him. A ghost portal. Fentons somehow managed to place it here, and Danny just so happened to overhear the conversation. He tore open the shield and saw a mess of different colored wires. If he hadn't lived with crazy scientists he wouldn't have known what to do. He tore the needed ones and connected with the others. It worked, security system was down, and another safedoor was opened, along with doors of the portal. Behind the safedoor was ecto-converter, the source of portal's power. He grabbed the converter with his hands.

"Stop him!" An agent shouted. Danny felt a flare of pain running through his body as he fell on his knees.

There was about twenty of agents who came seemingly out of nowhere, armed to teeth. There were also two people at whose sight Phantom's neon eyes turned into glare and shone brighter. A giant of a man in orange jumpsuit and a woman in a blue one.

"We figured out that you would come here, ghost boy," Maddie said with a smirk, holding a bazooka in her hands. "So we prepared this little trap so you won't be able to get away. This was supposed to destroy level nine ghosts, but somehow you managed to survive. I guess that makes you suffer longer, just like your kind deserves."

They received an unexpected reaction. Phantom managed to stand on his legs shakily, before breaking in loud, insane laughter which can make Joker jealous.

"You really are morons, you know that? Have you really thought I was going to simply run away? You left me without any purpose in life, killed everyone I cared about...I don't care if I live or not, I am ready to take the risks, you on the other hand..." he gave a small toothy smile, before putting his hand on converter and igniting his hand with green light. Everyone's eyes widened in realization. "I think hell would like the new additions," Phantom said, before attempting to jump into portal.

"Run!"

That was the last thing Danny heard before the converter got overloaded and everything around was blown up sky high.

-Later-

'Am I dead?' Danny thought. 'If I am than that doesn't feel much different. I probably should open my eyes. Better than just wonder where I am. I am either lying in red burning pit, or on the cloud.'

He felt a sharp stone under his back.

'Nope, I'm a bad boy and currently am in hell. Just peachy. JUST SHUT UP AND WAKE UP!'

Phantom opened his eyes and saw a green and black sky above him. He groaned, putting a hand over his face.

He was in Ghost Zone. A place where poor unfortunate souls come after their deaths, in case something holds them and doesn't let pass away. And this part was confusing for Danny. There shouldn't be anything holding him back, he has done what he wanted, they were dead, and their remains are probably buried under tons of junk hundred meters underground. Dannh looked down and saw that his wounds were attended properly.

"I see you are awake."

Danny jumped on his feet and turned around. Behind him was standing, floating, a man with dark blue skin, red eyes with no pupils, dressed in purple cloak. In his hand he was holding a staff with clocks on top.

"Damn it, Clockwork," Danny shook his head, "Why should you always come from behind?"

"It's not me who comes from behind, it's just you are sitting with your back turned to me," Time Master responded with a smirk.

"How are you doing, Daniel?" He asked. Danny sighed.

"What do you think? I spent three months in a god forgotten place, where I became a pioneer in exploring new ways of torture. Just peachy!" He threw his hands in the air with a deadpan expression on his face. Clockwork gave a small sad smile.

"I'm sorry about what you had to go through, no child or adult should experience what you have. I can only be glad that you are holding well despite everything."

"Yeah, kinda hard not to notice an 'Y' on the chest. Jazz taught me that if I react to all problems like that then I won't become insane. And no one wants that, right, Clocky?"

"Indeed. Now, you are probably wondering why you are still here..."

"On a chunk of lifeless ground in a middle of nowhere? Yes, please explain," Danny crossed his hands.

"As you probably know already, your obsession has nothing to feed from. Your case is...unique. Instead of turning into...how you teenagers call it...vegetable?" He chuckled. "Your ghost half fed from something else. Your human half was becoming smaller and smaller. That explosion you have created only sealed the process, and you can say that you died again."

Danny looked on the ground. "Yeah, I suspected something like that. I was wondering why I didn't want to sleep most of the time. I'm a full ghost now, just wonderful."

"The most powerful one if that helps."

Phantom stared at the Time Master dumbfounded.

"W-what, that can't be...I..." he stuttered, but Clockwork only raised his hand.

"I don't count, Daniel, I almost never use my power, and I have certain restrictions as you remember."

"But what about Pariah? I couldn't do anything without the costume!"

"No, Daniel. The costume power was equal to that of the crown and ring, you, on the other hand, have the same power as him. You have seen what Dan has done. He took over the human world AND the Ghost Zone with ease."

"I'm not him," Danny narrowed his eyes.

"True, you are the one who defeated him," Clockwork smirked.

Phantom sighed and dropped his head, making his long and unkept hair cover his face.

"Is there a point you are telling me this, Old Man?"

"Yes, there is, but I want you to promise that you won't react drastically."

"What do you..." Danny saw his look, "Ugh, fine, I promise, what is it?"

"Fentons are still alive," he said bluntly as Phantom's eyes widened in shock.

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Clockwork gave him a look which reminded Danny about the promise he has given. "They were supposed to die," he mumbled bitterly, "How is that possible?"

Time Master sighed, "Daniel, please, listen. They are just your past and nothing more. They think you are dead and that's enough."

"Maybe enough for you, but not me. When I get my hands on them..."

"They will kill you," Time Master interrupted. "Every single path leads to your oblivion in the end."

Danny gave him a hard look. "I don't care," he whispered angrily. "There is nothing for me to lose. I'll finish what I've started."

He was planning to go away but Clockwork materialized in front of him. "Daniel, there IS a way, but only if you are willing to listen."

"You just said that every time I die!" Danny exclaimed.

"You didn't let me finish," Time Master spoke calmly as usual. "You are going to straightforwardly attack and you will be ended. But, you can forget about them. For the time being, at least. Dan destroyed the GIW only because he didn't care about well being of the innocents. You yourself said that you aren't him. I'm offering you to find the power you need in the vastness of this galaxy."

Clockwork took out a strange device, pressed the button and put it on the ground. It whirred and much to Danny's amazement it had shown a map of the galaxy. He would know, he is a fan of astronomy, after all. And a holographic image, it's something out of science fiction movie!

"This galaxy has a long and bloody history, Daniel. Space empires appeared and crumbled, taking many lives in oblivion with themselves..."

"Wait, 'space empires'? Aliens exist? I knew it!" Now Danny was simply turning into boy in candy store, which amused the Time Master.

"Well, not only aliens, there is plenty of human races. Your planet is..."

"Here," Danny pointed at certain point.

"Yes," Clockwork sighed, "The right part of the galaxy is currently controlled by Galactic Republic, ready to crumble and fall into civil war. But that's not exactly what you need to hear at the moment. You see, there is a power flowing through the universe, it's called quite bluntly. The Force. One people have more potential, some less, but you are a unique case yet again. Force sensitives 'join the force' after their deaths, becoming the Force in its pure form."

"They become ghosts?"

"Not exactly, this technique is yet to be learned. You became a half ghost while being force sensitive. So basically, half of you joined the force and mixed with ectoplasm, which allowed your second half to repeat the process..."

"My head is going to explode now," Danny rubbed his forehead.

"I'm done already, anyway. So what's your choice?"

He sat on the edge of the floating piece of land and thoughtfully looked on the distance. He wasn't sure if that wasn't just a dream and he was still lying on dissection table. He shuddered at this thought, before pinching himself. No, he was certainly awake. And he was about to start an adventure in space. That's what he wanted all his childhood. How could he say no? And if it gives him a chance to defeat the GIW and finish Fentons...

"Alright, I agree," Danny nodded. "So, uhm, do I get my own spaceship or something?"

"No," Stars in Danny's eyes dimmed a little. "I'll teach you to tear the portals between planets and expand them in the future."

"Spaceship is still better."

"You may build one in the future if you want," Clockwork chuckled in amusement, before his look became serious. "Daniel, this is a huge responsibility you are taking. Many will despise you, fear and hate you..."

"Nothing I'm not used to," Danny mumbled with crossed hands.

"Your quest will require a big amount of cunning, power and luck."

"Alright I'm doomed because if last thing," Phantom chuckled, shaking his head. "I already said I agree, Clockwork," his look filled with determination. "And I will do it."

Clockwork nodded with a proud smile. "Very well. I'll come here later when you will be ready. You need to look more properly."

"Yeah," Danny said slowly. "And how am I supposed..."

"This piece of land belongs to you now when you are a full ghost. Just think about something and it shall appear."

And with that the Time Master was gone, leaving Danny alone. The ghost teen sighed, before tapping on the ground with his leg. He took a look at his surroundings. There was nothing there, not a single flower, just a bare rock.

"Hm, let's see here...a tree?" Phantom shrugged, and a pine tree appeared out of nowhere.

"Alright," he clapped his hands, "I think a small cottage is in order."

Just as he said, a wooden building appeared, making the owner of the place grin. He then added a pond and more random plants around the house. He did it without much care, despite sleeping for some time, he was too tired to think about it. He will do something more proper later. Maybe. Danny went inside the building. Once there, he found the bathroom.

There he looked in a mirror, and what he saw didn't please him.

"Flames, I look like a bum," Danny deadpanned, before picking up the scissors. "Let's see what I can do."

He started messing with his hair. He didn't try any hard tricks, he didn't want any new scars. After some time he stopped the process and checked himself in the mirror. A seventeen years old young man was looking back at him. He got a white bristle growing on his chin, but thankfully none of the 'scientists' came up with idea to cut his face. Even if he agreed that the bristle made him look more manly, he decided to shave it off.

After that he had a shower, washing away all the dirt. Ice cold water felt incredible, he hadn't had the shower ever since he was captured. While washing up he wondered what this galaxy was like, creating a completely different ideas. Were there flying cars, or hologram phones or something like that? He was literally glowing with excitement. But what should he start from? He didn't know and he hoped that Clockwork would tell him.

Danny got out of the shower after phasing the water through his body and started to look for clothes. He found them inside the drawer. There were a black T-shirt with his white symbol on it and blue jeans. He took them on and went out of the room and into the kitchen. He opened the fridge but it was empty. Blinking in surprise, he closed and opened the door again. And again nothing.

"Food is the only thing which cannot be created," Danny looked back and saw the Time Master in his elder form.

"Couldn't you tell me earlier?"

Clockwork shrugged, before taking out a paper package and putting it on a table. Danny could recognize the scent coming from it everywhere. He got his answer when he peeked inside.

"I won't ask how you got the food from Nasty Burger. And I won't complain and just say thanks," he sat at the table and started eating.

He really missed the taste of fast food, or any normal food in general, so he just silently enjoyed the meal. And the Time Master didn't interrupt. He started talking only when Danny was done.

"You are probably wondering what should you do once you arrive."

Danny nodded mutely in response.

"You will be on a peaceful planet named Tython. There you will find the one who will teach you basics of using the Force. And I'll be sending you an information about the galaxy, its history and sciences. Is that fine for you?"

"Yep."

Clockowrk stood up, raised his staff and spun it, making a blue portal appear. He made an inviting gesture.

"Remember this, Daniel, once you go through this portal, there is no turning back."

Danny looked at the blue circle, he has already made a decision.

'Sam, Tucker, Jazz, I promise, I'll return and avenge you,' he thought.

And with that he came through the portal, with it closing behind his back.

Clockwork looked at the place where Danny stood. If only this child knew what role he will play in history of the galaxy.

"All hail the Emperor Phantom," he said quietly with a small smile.

A.N. My problem is that if I get a new idea I don't have an inspiration for the others. What do you think of this one?


	2. Chapter II: A Great Piligrimage

"Well, either Vortex broke loose or the Old Man picked a wrong planet."

Clockwork lied. And that was a very cruel joke. When he said 'peaceful planet', Danny imagined a planet full of green flora, with beautiful waterfalls, etcetera, etcetera...NOT a black wasteland with storms ravaging in the atmosphere. The sky was covered by dark clouds, with occasional lightings flashing on a distance.

"Now where should I go..." he mumbled, covering his eyes with his hand. Just wonderful, he was dressed in light T and tight jeans while in a middle of typhoon.

Strangely enough, the storm started to calm down a bit as if on snap of the fingers, which made Vortex theory more possible. Wait, no, Vortex would have only strengthen the storm at his sight. Plus, what could he do on another planet? Danny looked around, trying to find SOMETHING in that desert. The clouds moved aside, like Moses and the Red sea, and the local sun lightened the way. That was invitation enough. Phantom went through the desert with one thought in mind, what futuristic can be here?

Then he saw a building far on a distance. Deciding to get a roof above his head, Danny flew up and became invisible, in case someone will be looking. The building was like a wide, but not very tall, tower. If he hadn't known better, Phantom would have thought that it was some buddhist temple. Danny tried to take a look from above, but again nothing. Even if there were any settlements, they could easily be on another end of the planet.

Phantom landed in front of the main door and knocked, but recieved no response. He tried again. This time the door just fell down with a thunderous sound, sending a cloud of dust in the air. In that moment Danny was thankful he didn't need to breath. He just waved it away and went inside. Everything around told him that no one visited this place for thousands years. Columns ready to collapse, holes in the floor from the ones which already did, it was a miracle that this building was still standing.

Then Danny felt something. It was some kind of gut feeling, telling him to go. He didn't like it, his gut almost got him killed on more than one occasion. But what else he could do? Only go inside the dark corridor number three. Danny ignited his hand and lightened the way with a green light. He walked further and further, before reaching a wooden door and opening it.

A small library was in there, and even if most of the books were taken, some still stayed. Phantom picked the first one with left hand and floated out of the room and through the ceiling. He comfortably situated on a roof, looking at his surroundings. Danny looked at the book and phased the dust through it. This was strange, the aliens should have advanced technologies and they still use paper or its analog.

"What kind of language is that?" He murmured, looking at the strange letters, which looked more like geometrical figures. As he turned over the pages, with each blink his eyes made, letters started to change their shape, until becoming English, which he knows so well. In Danny's opinion that was one of the most useful abilities ghosts possess. Especially now when he is a complete stranger, god knows how much light years from his home.

On the cover was a picture of a white gear inside another black bigger one, surrounded by white circle. Under it was written: 'The history of Je'daii Order'.

Putting away the thoughts about how weird the name sounded, Danny started to read. On the first page was 'A code of Je'daii.'

There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.

There is no fear; there is power.

I am the heart of the Force.

I am the revealing fire of light.

I am the mystery of darkness.

In balance with chaos and harmony,

Immortal in the Force.

Phantom guessed it was some kind of oath. As he read further, it was getting more and more exciting. Strangely enough, he hated history lessons in school, but seems like all was because of how boring the teachers were. There was so much things he learned. Apparently, this order was formed on this planet many years ago, plus the time since Tython was abandoned, information of what was absent. It wasn't inhabited, colonizers arrived from all corners of the galaxy.

The Force had dark and light side, and je'daii used them both, keeping the balance. Tython itself made them, since when the balance was lost, a horrible storm starts. Danny raised his eyebrow at that, before looking up at the stormy sky. He really had felt something ominous in the air. So there must be very much of dark side.

"So that's why it is like that," he mumbled, returning to his reading.

The following stuff was more boring, like rituals, traditions and rules, but Danny read everything nevertheless. That's actually how he learned that this planet has two moons: light Ashla and dark Bogan, each of them symbolizing its own side of the Force. Next was simply a list of high rank members since the foundation till its final days. The book wasn't that big actually, maybe because of the tiny handwritings, apparently handwritings, since the letters didn't always look the same. Phantom shocked himself with how long he was reading. The sun had already set.

He jumped and fell through the floor. He planned on learning more before starting searching for the 'teacher'. It's not like he needs to sleep anyway.

Meanwhile, about five miles away, a group of pirates was setting up a camp.

"Hey, boss, maybe we should find a more proper place to stay?" One of the goons asked. He was of weequay race, they were humanoids with thick, leathery skin that ranged in color from tan to dark brown. The goon's face was lipless, with a frill along each of his jowls.

Their leader didn't look much different, besides small features and richer clothing.

"Do you see any place for us to stay, smart mouth?" The captain asked, turning to face his subordinate. "Why do you think I spent so much credits on that space map? This planet is off charts, perfect place to setup a base. It's not like you would really search for the 'more proper place' now. It's night already and most of you are already drunk!"

And one of the pirates just needed to fall in drunk unconsciousness right in that moment. The goon looked on the distance thoughtfully, before suddenly noticing a small green light coming from a distance. He nudged the captain slightly.

"Boss, something is there," he pointed at the spot. The captain's eyes narrowed as he saw it too.

"Impossible, jedi left this planet long ago," he took out his blaster. "Oh, we will show whoever this is who this planet belongs to now. Call whoever is sober and prepare speeders."

As was easy to guess, the light was emmited by Phantom. As the night came he needed a source of light, so he scrambled everything what was made of wood in hopes that on this planet wood could be burned. It could, he shot at the pile which once was a table and it immediately burst in a green fire. Getting something to light the surroundings, he started on another book, dedicated to the Je'daii war with Rakatan Infinite Empire.

Rakata were a race of anthropomorphic amphibians, who had a very funny eyes disposition in Danny's opinion. They specialized on usage of the dark side, combined with technologies. They destoyed the race which taught and guided them, and established the empire, enslaving everyone who wasn't them. How was it called? Xenophobia, yes, that was it. They controlled over five hundred systems and became the reason of split in the order. Nevertheless, before this split, they actually managed to defeat Rakata.

And just as he was getting to the battle of Force Hound Xesh and predor Tul'kar, Danny heard a sound below him. Why below? He had a habit of walking while reading, and he somehow hadn't noticed how he got on the ceiling upside down. Well, that wasn't the first time he was like that, anyway. He was curious about his visitors, so he stayed where he was standing, shutting close the book.

Twelve people, obviously non humans, even if they had the same body structure, entered the hall, armed to teeth. One even brought a freaking bazooka, or whatever that was. They looked confused at the green fire, just what do you need to add in it to make it green, and why? The one in clothes of eye-tearing color stepped forward.

"Alright, show up, whoever you are, we mean no harm," he said calmly and loud enough to hear across the hall.

"I don't know much about your race customs..." Everyone started to search for the source of echoing and deep voice, which sent shivers down their spines. "But pointing a gun in someone's throat is not a common sign of good intentions."

"Show yourself!"

"Who are you to order me, my mother? For the note, I blew her up, without much success, though, but I'm working on it," Phantom said nonchalantly. "Just look up."

They did as was told, and the sight didn't look calming. What they saw was a young human man, or at least partially human, with strikingly white hair and glowing eyes the color of the fire. The most disturbing part is that the man stood on the ceiling like it was a floor. Phantom walked to the edge of the ceiling, before stepping on a column and coming down on the ground.

The pirates pointed their weapons at the strange creature, some of them were terrified, if shaking hands told anything. And Danny felt it with the new force thingy, and smirked toothily, showing off a sharp canine.

"What are you doing on our territory?" The captain demanded, taking out a blaster. He was scared too, but tried to sound intimidating.

"I beg your pardon?" Danny gave him a weirded look, confusing the aliens with unfamiliar phrase, even if spoken on their home language. "YOUR territory? This place seems abandoned for, I don't know, eternity," he made a line on a layer of dust to prove his point, before putting down a book on the nearest piece of debris.

"Don't get off the topic, boy."

"Didn't plan to," Danny said, clearly amused. "Name is Daniel. Daniel Phantom. As for why I'm staying in this place...you can say I'm merely a newbie around here, so I can't help but be curious about the history of this galaxy. And this," he gestured around himself. "Is a shining jewel in a pile of rubbish and junk."

The captain clapped, "Fine speech, boy, but you aren't welcomed here. Dispose of him."

As the pirates made shots, a huge cloud of dust flew in the air, thanks to an old trick Danny has learned, hiding everything from sight. When the dust settled, everything they saw was a green barrier in front of the ghost teen, who rolled his neon eyes.

"You done? If so then would you kindly to leave me alone? I was in a middle of interesting reading," he took the book back in his hands and opened.

"Find the shield generator!" The captain ordered, making Danny chuckle without looking up from his book.

"Search as long as you want, but you won't find anything," he snapped his fingers and the shield dispersed. "Go ahead and try again. All. At once."

The captain nodded to one of the soldiers, who lunged at the white haired boy with vibro-knuckle in his arm. A common weapon between lowlifers, every hit of which could break bones easily because of vibro motor in them. Phantom didn't know that, but still not intended to let this guy punch him. When the pirate attacked, Danny grabbed his arm in midflight, spun him around and held his hands behind the back, knocking away the knuckle. And all of this without looking up from the book he made float in the air.

"I believe I spoke clearly. All. At. Once," his eyes flared brighter before he knocked out his captive with a strong enough kick.

The group started to surround him, ready to start shooting. Phantom didn't show any sign of caring, nonchalantly turning over the page.

"Did you know that Rakata are extinct because of some kind of plague?" He asked.

Now the pirates were pissed. He didn't even pay attention to them, for goodness sake! Three goons approached him with vibro blades at ready.

"I expected something more futuristic. Swords are a bit out of fashion, you know?" Danny taunted.

"Speaks the one who is unarmed."

They attacked the ghost. Phantom ducked under the first strike and landed a punch in a gut. The pirate gasped as the air was kicked out of his lungs, and before he could do anything, Danny threw him under legs of another attacker and made him fall on the ground. The third one swung his blade and landed a hit at Phantom's hand, leaving a long wound. Danny yelped in pain, because that really hurt. However that wasn't the result everyone expected.

"What your bones are made of?!" The pirate exclaimed in shock, making Phantom grin.

"I don't have any," he approached the pirate and in a small hand to hand combat knocked the weapon away. "But I have doubts about you."

Suddenly he felt something hot hitting his back. It stung like ectoblast, but that's the point, he was hit by the ones like that daily. It was nothing. Danny knocked the pirate with his left leg. The pirate caught it in his hand and planned to use it to his advantage. But Phantom suddenly jumped on one leg and striked him in head, spinning in the air. It knocked the pirate out effectively. Danny stood up quickly.

"Alright, spill it, who shot at my back and ruined my only shirt?" He asked dangerously calm.

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE?!"

Pirates started shooting from whatever they were armed with, and the building was bathed in blue and red light. Phantom took a deep breath, hoping that je'daii technique would work. He raised his hands and it almost felt like something was moving his arms, not him, something which allowed him to block the blaster fire. Phantom moved so fast that it wasn't even required most of the time. Kicked the first one, then another, and it didn't take long to take all of them down. And finally, it was the captain's turn. He was shaking in fear, pointing his small blaster at the ghost. Danny grinned, before grabbing his neck.

"P-please, mercy!" He choked.

"Mercy? Hmm," Danny looked at all the bodies. "I think I have caused enough deaths for the last days. All your goons are unconscious, I made sure of that, besides probably that one," he nodded towards one of the pirates, who moaned in pain. "I think his liver is punctured. Unless your race has a second one, or it is just in another place of your body, I'm not sure. I'll let you all go, but on certain conditions."

"Say what you want! I'll do everything!"

"Everything, you say? How did you get on this planet? I doubt it is your homeworld."

"Yes, it isn't. We are simple pirates. I thought it will be a good place to setup the base."

"Then you have brought something here, haven't you?"

The captain rapidly nodded.

"Very well. You all get away from this place, and leave here whatever you brought. Am I clear?"

"Crystal!"

Danny let go of his neck and the captain fell on the ground, gasping for air. "Show me where your camp is."

The unlucky pirate continued to nod, stumbling outside, with Phantom following behind. He pointed towards the camp. "T-there!"

"And I take it that this is your transport," Danny looked at the speeders and grinned as his aura became brighter because of boyish excitement, something the pirate didn't know about. He was too occupied with praying for his safety. Phantom examined the transport closely. All in all it looked like brown bike without wheels. "Wow, is that some antigravity thing or something? So awesome!"

The captain blinked in surprise. Just from what forgotten corner of the galaxy this kid came from?

Phantom looked up. "What?" He deadpanned.

"N-nothing!"

"Then mount on this...ehm..."

"Speeder."

"...speeder and lead the way."

It was a short but very exciting trip. Danny always wanted a bike, well, that was not as fun as flying, but still it felt wonderful when a wind was blowing in your face. He couldn't help but make an excited yell. The speeder fit its name, it was the fastest thing he had ever seen. Then they stopped near the spaceship after a few minutes. Danny was a bit disappointed that the ride ended so fast, he will ride more later.

"I expected something bigger," Danny commented, jumping off his speeder.

"It's only the scouting ship."

"Care to elaborate?"

"We planned on bringing more supplies later. Here is enough to stay on this planet for a week."

"But you won't come back later, will you?"

"N-no."

"Good!" Danny smirked. "Have you taken everything already?"

"No, we planned to stay inside the ship. Storms are too frequent here."

"Then that's what we are going to do, you drive this ship to that temple, leave all the carriages there, pick up all your goons and get lost."

-Later-

Danny continued to read the books he found, munching some kind of energy bar. It was almost tasteless, but his hunger was subjugated. The carriages from pirates contained food enough for the crew to last for a week, which means Danny now had amount of food enough for a few months. He got a few cases with some yellow plastic/metal rectangles, which played the role of currency in the galaxy. Golden standard goes to hell, or whatever the locals believed in.

There were also weapons, with which Phantom's duplicate was middling at the same time. His observations proved his theory. This galaxy's weaponry was weaker than ectoweapons. Against him anyway. The blasters created a laser, and the focusing crystal made this laser deadly.

He already took apart most of this guns for his research. Small stunning ones, heavy rifles, apparently for long distances. He was a son of two great scientists, after all, as much as he hates to admit this.

Another duplicates were reading and studying everything they could find, which was harder than Danny hoped. Be cursed, jedi and sith, they took most of the relevant information with themselves.

One of the duplicates, however, found something intriguing. There was six more Temples around the planet. The Great Journey, a pilgrimage across Tython to each of the Temples that all Je'daii would take upon graduating from the rank of Padawan to Journeyer. In each temple padawans learned new skills of force, and Phantom got an idea. He would visit those Temples and probably find more information.

Danny prepared everything for it. He took some food and water, putting it on the speeder, and left a duplicate to watch over supplies. He should probably go on bare feet, but he didn't have so much time to walk across the planet, even if it apparently was much smaller than Earth. The map of the Temples was found in one of the books.

In one of the cargos Danny found a curious helmet. It was black with blue outlines and black visors. It fit him well, and protected his head from all the sand flying in the air because of stormy wind. On the road Phantom regretted he hadn't taken Ipod or something else. He could use some music right now.

It took a few hours to reach the first Temple on his way. It looked completely the same, besides disposition on the edge near an endless pit. He searched the building for any more books. He found that quite amusing, he was exploring barrens in search for books of all things. He felt like Indiana Jones, you know, finding ancient artifacts and relics. There was only one book which was spared by time and climate conditions. It held the information about force rituals and enchantments for cold weapons. To Danny's disappointment it couldn't make your sword burn with neverending fire or shock your opponent with electricity, the rituals only made the metal harder and almost unbreakable.

But je'daii weren't just visiting the Temples. They learned from local masters and meditated. And since the first thing was impossible, Danny decided to meditate. And he already knew how to accomplish this by their standards. He needed to bring his memories back, and think about something warm, in order to get positive emotions. But in the meantime he needed to think about something or someone to which or whom he felt hatred and anger. And Phantom had plenty of memories about both.

The visions started to flood into his mind.

He saw a school ground, a junior school, and he remembered this moment as if that was yesterday. Danny saw a six years old boy with ice blue eyes and raven hair. Phantom had almost forgotten how he looked like when he was alive, not that he didn't know about his features, but how that all looked together. Sadly, he knew what was about to happen.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Danny saw that his younger self was being cornered by two bigger kids, first one with blond hair and the second asian looking boy.

"Oh, c'mon, Fenturd, don't be greedy, share some money," blond one said mockingly.

"No, I won't! You are a meanie, Dash! You always take my money, and I can't eat before dinner."

"I'm just hungry, too," Dash grinned, before hitting the smaller boy in stomach and making Danny yelp in pain. Dash dug in pockets of Danny's jacket and took out money.

"Give it back!" Danny exclaimed, before punching Dash in his eye.

"Argh! You will pay for this, Fenton!" Dash covered the eye, before going away. Little Danny looked on the ground and took his money happily. At least he won't be starving today. But Phantom knew perfectly well that happiness won't last for long. And the force had decided to remind him that as well.

"Daniel James Fenton, I'm very disappointed in you," Maddie scolded the boy.

"But Mommy, Dash..."

"What Dash? You gave him a blue eye, Daniel. Was that so hard to share your lunch money?"

"But he also..."

"Enough buts, go to your room, and no sweets for a week."

It was time. Phantom was filled with anger. He always was treated like that by his 'parents'.

'They never took the time to listen, they jumped in conclusions and never believed me,' he started his inner tantrum, before speaking out loud, "I never lied before the accident. But they treated me like I was an ended liar. Yes, believe in what some unfamiliar people say, they always speak the truth, believe some spoiled BRAT! AND NEVER, EVER, TRY TO AT LEAST LISTEN TO ME!"

If someone watched him at that moment, he or she would have seen how Phantom's aura flared like black fire.

"Always neglected, always a shadow of my sister, looming somewhere behind her. Not so smart, weaker, and all in all worthless. Always compared and hated. So just WHY?! WHY DO THEY TREAT ME LIKE I'M A CHILD OF SATAN HIMSELF WHEN SHE GETS ALL ATTENTION, CHERISHING AND LOVE?!"

His eyes glowed red under his eyelids.

'But Jazz wasn't like that two faced fools. All the love for her was understandable, and I was probably the one who loved her the most," he smiled slightly, 'She taught me to ride bicycle, swim and even read. Jazz was the only member of our family who remembered that I have birthdays too. Her cakes tasted horrible, but were made with love, and for me it was the most delicious thing in the world."

The aura around him stopped being red as well as his eyes, the last ones returning to neon green, and the aura becoming light shade of gray.

He took a deep breath before getting up. It was the time to go to another Temples. A few minutes later he already was riding his speeder.

Danny rubbed his forehead. It was going to be a long night.

But the next two Temples disappointed him. Not a single folio or book. He meditated for an hour in each. The energy flowed through him, both dark and light, but there weren't any visions.

The fourth Temple was a tough nut to crack. It was situated on top of the mountain. Danny could have just flown up, but it would have ruined the purpose of this task. He climbed easily at first, but as he was getting higher, the rocks were becoming smaller and smaller, making it harder for him to grab onto. Then Danny got the purpose of this task. He closed his eyes and reached for the Force. He jumped up and to the right, landing on a strong enough rock. Phantom continued jumping. He must not hurry, there is no need for that and it will probably end badly. Patience of the light side.

But the Force suddenly stopped leading him. Danny opened his eyes and saw that he was on a spacey piece of stone a few meters below the temple. He was on his own now. Phantom looked around and saw a dry tree. He got an idea. Danny broke a few thick branches and picked up a few stones. He sharpened the stones, and already prepared to tie them to the branches, but then realized that he had nothing to tie them with. His eyes fell on his sneakers, before Phantom smirked. He pulled out the laces and used them to tie the items. One drinking sailor once told him how to make the tightest knot, don't ask how he met him. Now two alpinist pickaxes were ready.

Using his strength, Danny was digging small holes in rocks, climbing up further and further, until finally reaching his destination and jumping on the platform. That was a test if he was resourceful enough to use dark side. He had to give it to je'daii, they sure were creative with their challenges.

Phantom found something very interesting inside. It was a book of sword arts. Now that was very curious and intriguing. More than that, he found a strange metal construction. It was a metal sphere with many holes in it. Danny put everything in his bag, he will examine everything later.

It was a turn for meditation. And what a view was from such a height, perfect place for it.

He closed his eyes, but when he searched for a proper memory, he suddenly heard a deep, familiar voice. His voice.

"My, my, my. What do we have here?"

Danny saw the one he dreaded to ever see. Blue skin, red eyes, burning white fire instead of hair. Phantom didn't know what the hell was going on, but he assured himself that...

"Relax, child, I'm not the one whose form I've taken."

"Then who are you?" Danny asked.

"You should know my name already! Use your brains if they are still there and think!" Dan, or whoever that was, exclaimed. Danny didn't like this tone at all. "Ah, angry, aren't we? Yes, feed from it, young one. It will make you stronger than anyone in this galaxy. The Dark side have created a lot of Sith Lords which had brought billions to their knees. You will have power, respect, everything you dreamed about all your life."

"I didn't dream about all of this," Danny muttered.

"Oh, yes you did," the being appeared behind him suddenly, but in a form of Danny's hated bully, "You yourself said so, and I saw your memories," he lowered his head. "This is what you want, go ahead, punch me, Fenton, or running away is everything you can?"

"I'm NOT a FENTON."

Phantom felt a strong templation to do something he might regret, he felt a desire to cause pain to the ones who made his childhood a torture. But that weren't them, it was only an impostor, and he was somehow able to change appearance and influence his emotions. More than that, he didn't plan to kill the ones who tortured him. He hated GIW, Dan and Fentons for another reason, they all were guilty in deaths of the people he cared for, or attempted to do so in Dan's case. Danny never cared about himself. It was a selfless rage, something in between both sides. Phantom suddenly got an idea what was in front of him.

"I'm not going to play your game...Bogan, is it?"

"HAHHAHAAHA!" he laughed loudly, throwing his head back and taking Dan's form again. "IN SO MANY YEARS EVEN MANY JE'DAII HAVE FAILED TO SOLVE SUCH A PETTY RIDDLE! Congratulations, kid, you passed the test, you lucky son of a gungan. And here I thought that we will get another pesky sith," he muttered.

"Wait, you are an imbodification of the dark moon, and you just tried to turn me to the dark side, and yet you seem to dislike siths, why so?"

"And here comes this question everyone asks. Siths were the ones who broke the balance! And jedi made the matters only worse. Even if with each year I become stronger, this is not what I desire. I wish everything to be as it was before. And YOU may be our chance."

"Me?"

"Be happy, kid, compliments from me happen as often as the star explodes. Meaning that you are yet to deserve the first and last one. I'm merely saying, you have a potential in force no one had seen before, not to mention other universe abilities, and you can live for eternity as a spirit you are. If you keep the balance inside of you, then the balance will be restored in the whole galaxy once and for all."

'IF I'd like to live after revenge.'

"I hear your thoughts, if you didn't get by now."

Danny sighed.

"What's the catch?"

"Well, it might require to dirty your hands in blood of a few jedi and siths."

"I'm not a murderer," Danny said.

"And yet you killed about fifty Gits in White without a slightest care. Boy, I've never seen such a pretty massacre! Here, you got your compliment," Bogan shook his head, "Remember this, the balance is what keeps this galaxy from falling apart. Jedi are guilty in it too, despite their noble actions. Disbalance to the light side is still a disbalance. You can either make them change their minds, which will not be simple, since their skulls are so hard to get through, or eliminate them and siths as well. That is for you to decide, kid, ta!"

Danny opened his eyes and awoke from his meditation. He went to the next Temple. Jumping from the top of the mountain, he easily landed on his feet with a lot of thoughts on his mind. He took on the helmet, looked at the torn page with map, and took off.

Honestly, if he had known that going so far away from the Earth will put only more responsibility on his shoulders, he would have stayed in a Ghost Zone. Was Bogan saying the truth? He was of a dark side, and they were quite deceiving. In his thoughts Danny hadn't noticed how he got to the last Temple.

He didn't search for any artifacts this time and immediately sat meditating. He had a suspicion about what awaits for him.

"Hello, Danny."

That voice...he saw a seventeen years old girl, with short hair tied in ponytail, dressed in all black, with the most beautiful purple eyes Danny had ever seen. But that wasn't her, he knew it.

"Change the form, Ashla, I know it's you," Danny turned away with a downcast look.

"You don't want me to take her form, do you?" Ashla sat nearby, looking like an older redheaded young woman, Jazz. Danny nodded.

"Yes, every time I saw her in my dreams, it never helped me in my time of suffering," he whispered, "Because each time...It only reminded me that she is DEAD!" Danny put his arm over his face. Ashla put a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm, down, child," she said softly, "I'm sorry, I should have known that the reaction will be like that. Many get very emotional after the pilgrimage. You are mentally exhausted, but you are actually doing quite well."

"Have you talked with any of the piligrims before?" Danny looked up at her.

"No. You are the first one we speak with directly, with them we spoke in signs. Bogan probably told you that your connection with the force is strong. That's why we are able to talk now."

"He wasn't the first one to tell me that. Clockwork was ahead of you."

Ashla chuckled. "Yes, I saw the Time Lord. I must admit, you are the most peculiar je'daii I've ever seen. You died but stayed alive, and when you got so much power, you used it to help the others instead of personal gain. You have met the Time Lord and traveled through time, while moving between two universes. That is something to be proud of."

"Proud of? I can only think about most of it as mistake."

"I'm speaking only as the being of the light side, Danny. You protected the innocents despite their hatred towards you. What is it if not the purest light side? We have seen what you have done with that pirates. They wanted to kill and rob you, and you still spared them instead of killing and taking their ship along with supplies. But there is also a lot of dark side inside of you, it was planted in you by that evil people. Still...it gives our galaxy a chance. YOU give us a chance to live."

Danny looked down. "I never asked to have all of this. I never wished to be a superhero and have such a responsibility on me."

"Only the Force knows what's best for us. Maybe that's why you had this accident which made you so unique, no matter what everyone says. It must have a reason to pick you of all people. And I can see this reason. You are the bravest and kindest soul I've ever seen. In the same time, you can be ruthless and harsh, but only when needed. I can't imagine anyone who fits better for this job."

Danny leaned back. "I...I need to think about it."

"Then think faster, boy."

They turned towards the source of the sound. Bogal was standing there.

"I shed a tear, really," he clapped his hands. "You always convinced people better than me, sister."

"What are you doing here?" She asked confused.

"Simple, we got trouble. Our new friend caused a massive disturbance in the Force. Unintentionally," he added, seeing Danny's look. Then a ground shook slightly. "You ARE a walking disturbance, kid, deal with it. The earthquakes hadn't fully reached here yet, but I think it isn't long until they covers the whole planet. Any ideas?"

"Well, I might have a plan, but you aren't going to like it."

"It's not like we have much choice," he rolled his eyes and crossed his hands.

"If young Phantom allows us," she turned to Danny, "We can stay in his consciousness."

"WHAT?!" Both Danny and Bogal exclaimed.

"Told you so," she mumbled.

"But can't you go on your moons?" Danny asked.

"Moons are named after us, boy, but that doesn't mean that we can travel wherever we want. Ashla is right, we don't have a choice," Bogan rubbed his temples, "Ugh, of everyone to rely on, I need to hope on some teen's decision."

Danny looked at the two beings, powerful, but yet so weak. One looking as his beloved sister and another like his ultimate enemy. Phantom sighed.

"What will happen with me if you settle in?"

"We will be able to communicate with you..." Bogan raised his finger, preparing to count.

"But we won't pester," Ashla added. Her brother looked at her annoyed.

"...we will visit in dreams, but you don't sleep so that doesn't count. The sweetest part is coming next, you will be granted with our power as long as you keep the balance, plus our knowledge. Sounds like a fair deal, right?"

Phantom hummed. "It is my fault your world is being destroyed..."

"No duh."

"So I agree," Danny finished.

"Thank you," Ashla said with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah, now wake up and get away as fast as you can."

Danny opened his eyes and felt like something was pouring inside of him. Something huge, and if he needed to breath, he would be out of the air. His lungs felt like they were swapped inside out, making it very painfully. Phantom yelled in pain, and everything he wanted is for it to stop, and this pain was gone after a few moments. Then his head started to hurt as hell, with new information flooding his brain.

When the pain subdued, he heard a nervous laugh.

'Sorry! We never actually did this before.'

Danny sighed, before getting on his feet. He needed to return to his camp quickly, and make a portal, if he will be able to.

He ran out of the building with his bag hanging on his shoulder. Then he suddenly heard a howling. Danny searched for the source and found something. It was a nest, with a single small chick without feathers.

'Eh, leave this ugly thing here,' Bogan said.

'No, we mustn't! It is the last remaining hook hawk!'

"You said you won't pester. Come here, little guy," Danny gently took a small creature in his hands and wrapped him in a piece of clothing.

He then ran outside and sat on the speeder, before riding on maximum speed. Just as he set off, Danny felt the ground shake behind.

The ride went surprisingly smooth. The ground broke once in front oh him, but Phantom used the force push under the speeder, sending it flying over the pit. But when he reached the first Temple, the ground started shaking again as never before. Phantom made duplicates to gather all the stuff, with pieces of debris falling everywhere.

'So what's the plan, boss?'

"I need to know where to make a portal."

Danny turned on the star map and picked a random supposedly habitable planet.

"Alright, how people do it in movies..."

'Are you serious right now?!'

"Quiet! First maybe I need to concentrate on a place," Danny closed his eyes and thought about how the planet looked and where it was. "Decide to teleport..." his hand suddenly glowed green and green electricity sparkled with loud cracking sound. "And...imagine a portal?"

A green circle appeared in the air just as the ceiling started to crumble. Phantom pushed all supplies in the portal, before jumping in himself, right before the roof fell on the ground.

But no one thought at the moment that by leaving Tython Danny revealed his presence to every force sensitive in the known galaxy.


	3. Chapter III: The slave's rebellion

Danny fell on his face. Sounds not very heroical or inspiring, but that's what exactly happened. He fell down in mud.

"Flames," he muttered, getting up and phasing off the wet soil.

'Isn't your best landing, huh, kid?' Bogan didn't wait long.

"Yeah, but definitely not the worst," Danny laughed.

'Your optimism is very inspiring,' Ashla commented. 'How is a little nestling doing?'

Danny then remembered that they weren't alone. He opened a small pile of clothing he was holding, where birdie was lying, croaking dreary.

"Hey, bud," Phantom took out a nutrient bar, "It might be different from what you are used to eat, but it should do for now."

'I'm still curious, how in the name of the Force did you manage to save this one?' Bogan asked.

The bird bit a small piece without much eager, but still munched and ate it.

'Young one's family was fending with worms for many years, just like their ancestors evere since almost everything died above the surface. Probably that's why she isn't so picky with food. Her parents have died in Force storm just yesterday.'

'Still, do you realize that you just fed one of the most ferocious carnivores of Tython with nutriet bar, kid?'

"The last of his kind, nevertheless," Danny argued, putting the nestling on one of the boxes. "Sam always said that there are no animals which cannot be tamed if you raise them yourself. I never believed that, our planet has plenty examples which prove otherwise, but I think it is still worth a shot."

Phantom rubbed the head of a creature gently, and to surprise of everyone she nuzzled against his finger. Danny smirked slightly.

"See?"

He covered the nestling with a piece of clothing, putting a nutrient bar beside, so she could eat as much as she wanted. Phantom walked to the nearest edge, in order to get a look on his surroundings. It was a tropical forest, a good contrast with a bare wastleland he had seen just before. The smell alone felt mesmerizing, and the view from such a height was amazing.

'You done enjoying the view, boy?'

Danny raised his eyebrow. "What's so bad in it, it's not like I'm in any hurry."

'It may be so, Danny, but you have to start already.'

"Start on what?"

'Don't tell me you've forgotten everything we've told you mere hours ago,' Bogan groaned. 'You know, all this speach about the importance of balance.'

"And?"

'UGH! You really are clueless.'

"Nope, I'm just messing with you. I DO remember, but I don't know where exactly to start."

'Just listen to the Force, and it shall lead you,' Ashla answered before her brother could throw a tantrum. Danny chuckled.

"This galaxy lives so simple," he said, before closing his eyes and reaching for the Force. Two beings were now standing near him.

'Sorry for an indecent question, but where exactly are we?'

"This planet is called Valor'rum," Danny told, making slow and gracious movements, put inside his brain after the beings' 'settling in'. It was meant to concentrate the Force around. He will attempt to unite with it, and maybe something will happen. Phantom wasn't the fan of a method of scientific pointing, but it's not like he had much of a choice.

"It is based in a core of the galaxy, on the same distance from the center as Coruscant, besides the fact that it bases in the Unknown Regions."

'Unknown Regions? Well, you are either a madman or too thoughtful for your own good,' Bogan rolled his eyes.

'It is actually good, isn't it?' Ashla asked. 'The Unknown Regions are almost unreachable from the known galaxy because of hyperspace and gravitational anomalies.'

"Yes, if someone can feel my disturbance in the Force besides you two, of which I have no doubts," Danny added, throwing his hand forward. "They won't be able to get to us. I'm free to do whatever I want."

Danny's glowing increased as he was done. "We aren't alone," he mumbled.

If there is one thing you can't do to the Force user, is to get to him from behind. By the end of the ritual he could feel every living being around him for miles. And it was obvious that there was someone behind him. He felt no ill intentions from the person lurking between the trees. Fear, yes, but no maliciousness. Danny turned right where he or she was standing.

"I'm not going to do anything," Phantom spoke calmly, before smiling reassuringly.

A young boy peaked out slightly, before hiding back behind the tree. The boy blinked in surprise. The outlander can talk his language! Danny chuckled slightly, one small ghost trick wouldn't be extra. He let out some of his ghostly aura to make the boy feel more safe. And it worked. Unlike force persuasion, ghost influence could affect even strong minded people, there everything depended on willpower. That's why people feel fear by merely stepping into some ghost's haunt. Ghosts want to ward the intruders away. But instead of fear, ghosts can induce other emotions as well, without revealing themselves.

The boy was thin and dressed in rags. He looked very much human, with the exception of his skin having a pale orange shade. He had dark brown hair and eyes, which held a curiosity for the strange man in front of him. The boy looked about ten years old, but who knows for how long this race can live. Danny only continued to smile.

"You are lost, aren't you, kiddo?" He leaned against one of the crates and crossed his hands.

"I..." he started. "I'm not lost."

Danny's eyes widened slightly. He may be clueless in times, but that case seemed obvious. Rags, thin and weakened body, signs of shackles being on his hands...

"You are a slave runaway," he stated his assumption.

The boy started to radiate an immense fear as his eyes filled with this emotion. He backed away and started to shake.

"Hey, hey, don't worry," Danny said softly, raising his hands. "I won't call for anyone."

The boy started to calm down, but the doubt still stayed. Danny could sense that he was weary of him. He got an idea.

"Are you hungry?" He took out yet another bar.

'Oh, just great, another useless mouth,' Bogan said.

'Brother! This child is starving!'

'And if the kid gives away the food so easily, than he will be the one who is starving.'

'And yet, I can afford giving one darn bar,' Danny thought.

The boy approached slowly and kept glancing at the bar in Danny's hands. Even Phantom, who had a supernatural reaction, increased even more by the Force, was impressed with how fast the boy snatched the food from his hand.

"Th-thank you," he mumbled, before starting to eat.

"Be my guest," Danny smirked.

He decided to wait with questions until the boy ate. Meanwhile he just opened the book he was in a middle of reading. The boy looked curiously at it, but couldn't understand this language. So he only eyed the pictures, munching the tasteless but nourishing treat. This book contained the blueprints of so called forcesabers. They weren't perfect, and their power source were negative emotions. But they could cut through every metal, even enchanted with the Force. Still, this same sabers were the reason of split in the order. Some Je'daii desired the power this weapon gave and turned to the dark side.

Danny looked up from his reading and saw that the boy has long since finished. "So, what's your name, kiddo?"

"Johnor Fendin," he mumbled in response. Danny hummed.

"Mind if I call you John? That's just a more common name for my race."

The boy blinked again and nodded.

"Alright then, my name is Daniel, but you can call me Danny. Can I ask what you are doing here?"

"I ran from Master Scaball. My Dad helped me to escape, but...he is still in there! Master will punish him!"

"Shh, calm down, little guy," Phantom said. "Take a deep breath."

"I'm not little," Johnor grumbled, making the ghost teen chuckle in amusement.

"Sure you are not," Danny said, before perking up as his smile was gone. "Flames, John, hide in a box, quick!"

He opened one random box nearby and John didn't complain and got inside, even if he had no idea how Danny knew that someone was nearby. He didn't know about ghosts' sensitive hearing. Phantom meanwhile had a sense of dejavu. Should every planet greet him the same way?

Several people came out. It's not for him to judge, but this haircuts seemed rather uncomfortable for their wearers. They all had the same shade of orange skin, dressed in some kind of armor, which looked a bit like plastic, but there were also metal parts. This parts covered their chests and other vulnerable places. One of this obvious soldiers was wearing a helmet made of the same black metal. And they all had blasters in their hands. The blasters were different from the ones he saw before, what was to be expected.

"An outlander!" The one in helmet exclaimed, pointing double pistols at him as his comrades did the same. Danny raised his hands.

"There is no need for that. I'm weaponless, see?"

The supposed leader hummed.

"Indeed. Makes our job easier, you are coming with us."

"Why? It's not like I'm doing anything illegal."

"You are an Outlander, the fact that you roam here by yourself and know our language is already suspicious. And what is in this boxes?"

One of the soldiers started to approach the boxes. Under calm expression, Danny was worried, and the Force was telling him that John was too. He was downright terrified. Danny glanced at the soldier.

"There is nothing important," he said slowly, waving his hand. The soldier's eyes widened slightly, before he turned away from Phantom's belongings. Danny turned back to the leader.

"It's merely my stuff for travels: food, water and other required things for research."

"Oh my...captain, look at this!" One of the soldiers exclaimed. "It has paper books! They cost an enormous fortune!"

Danny's eyes flashed brighter at being called 'it'. No one dares to call him that.

"Is that so? You must be a rich one, Outlander. Now, boys, let's show our guest a famous Yuthanian welcome," Danny was sure the captain was smirking under his helmet. Well, at least he now knows the name of their race, good to know. Then a hit with the back of the blaster followed.

"Ouch," Danny yelped, rubbing the back of his head, "Did you just try to knock me out?"

Soldier kicked him again, but this time in the face. "Can't you just bring me where you want without it? I'll come peacefully, I swear."

"Whatever it is, this thing has pretty thick skull. Put on the handcuffs and bring it to our ship."

Phantom didn't resist when the soldiers completed the order. He needs to lure the soldiers away from John. If he simply takes them down then only more will arrive.

'I hope you have a plan, boy,' Bogan said.

'Yep. Now wait a second, you said you can read my thoughts!'

'Well...we...'

'He lied partially. Actually we can hear only what you say to us, Danny, or what you think about during mediations,' Ashla explained.

'What is not said is not a lie,' Bogan grumbled.

"Move along, kid," the soldier nudged the ghost teen. "No spacing out."

"Coming, coming," Danny said, rolling his eyes. He then glanced at the box where John was hiding and winked. He hoped that the boy was familiar with winking sign.

John recognized this sign, but he was confused by the young man's actions. He was really thankful that he didn't tell the soldiers, they took him instead, but Phantom didn't seem to care much. This Outlander looked and behaved strange. John had seen a lot of Outlanders, living among fellow slaves. But never the ones like him. He saw people with green, blue skin, the ones who remotely didn't look like Yuths, but he wasn't like anyone. And this eyes, they seemed to glow just like the rest of his body.

"Sir, what shall we do with his belongings?" John heard a voice and his heart skipped a beat.

"Leave it here, we will come back for it later."

"But what if someone comes here?"

"Who comes? There is no one here in miles. Just leave a tracker so we can find this place again."

The soldier put a small metal device on one of the boxes and followed his comrades. Danny was put on his knees as they searched for anything in his pockets. Finding nothing, the soldiers led him to their transport.

Once they were far away, John climbed out of the box. He started to panic. Should he save the Outlander? Yeah, right, what can he do? Big and strong soldiers against ten years old slave. Still, maybe there is something he can do...

"Are you going to help or not?" John spun around in fright, but to his amazement Danny was standing there, leaning against one of the boxes.

"W-what? How did...when?" Danny chuckled in amusement, before sitting on his knee and lowering himself to the boy's eyelevel.

"You will learn that my race has a lot of abilities, kiddo," he said with a smile, making a tap on John's nose.

"Now," Phantom added, standing up. "Let's move my things in safe place before this dundleheads return," a small boy snickered.

Meanwhile the original Danny was annoying the hell out of his captors just for the fun of it.

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"And now?"

"Nooo," the captain groaned. "Now just shut up and walk."

"Okay," Danny said sadly, dropping his head. "Are we there yet?"

"ARGH! You are so dead!" The captain turned to him.

"I got it without you, thanks. Oof!" The leader punched him in gut as his subordinates held the ghost teen by hands.

"Now. Shut. Up. Or I'll start using electroshocker," he threatened.

Danny would have soluted, but his hands were cuffed. "Aye, aye, cap'n!"

"Sir, why don't we just kill it?"

"Because it is an Outlander who came out of nowhere. The governor will be interested in such development."

"That's offending you know?" Danny asked, but everyone ignored him this time.

"What about that runaway?"

"Let him be, this one will make more proper servant. The brat will probably be eaten by some wild animal."

After half an hour of walking they came to a spaceship. Danny wondered why he hadn't heard it if they were so close. The ship looked...less imaginative than Phantom expected. Not much different from a standard Earth air-fighter, only a few times bigger.

The soldiers led him inside the ship. This time it looked more futuristic, with lights everywhere and a lot of different colored switches which purpose always remains unknown. The captain ordered to put Danny behind the bars, well, not bars per say, it was a cell with a door made of some impenetrable energy barrier. He himself meanwhile went to the pilot room to make an order to go to the planetary capital. To entertain himself Danny made a small ball of ectoplasm and started throwing it at the wall. It bounced like rubber ball and returned back into his hand. Two soldiers and the returned captain looked curiosly at such display.

"What a freak," the captain mumbled.

"Freak?" Danny looked up from his small entertainment and caught the ball without looking. "This is one way to put it," he got up and walked to the soldiers, who were stunned at the fact that Danny could hear them.

"Calling me a freak is a weak justification for your actions. After all, at my homeworld YOU would be considered orange skinned freaks. This is a very subjective matter. One wise man once said," Phantom turned around and looked out of the window, from which he could see that they were over plain terrain now. He put his hands behind his back.

"You can only rule over a subject race, especially when you are in a small minority, if you honestly believe yourself to be racially superior, and it helps towards this if you can believe that the subject race is biologically different. Tell me, you are enslaving other races, aren't you?"

"Yes, so what?" The captain crossed his hands.

"My homeworld may be younger than yours, but we have faced many unjustices already. Racism, nazism, sex discrimination, we have overcome this, all of that are mistakes we made in past. Each mistake contains a lesson, and we, just like you, have yet to learn this lesson. Sorry for my small speech, I may be one of the worst students of my city, but I can be quite philosophical at times."

"And you are talking with us about it, why?"

"I was just curious about what your country is like, plus...It is always nice to have a conversation with anyone who takes time to listen, even if they don't take your words into account. My previous captors weren't like that."

The captain shook his head, turning away to leave. "Watch out if he tries something. He clearly is out of his mind."

-Later-

The capital of this planet was Thogeter. It lacked any huge skyscrapers, besides only one, or any other megaconstructions, and Danny overheard a conversation of the soldiers guarding him, as well as the ones who did their business on the other side of ventilation. He learned that this planet was colonized just a few years ago.

"Get up, xenoscum, we have arrived," the captain interrupted, coming into the room and interrupting Phantom's meditation. Danny opened his eyes.

"Well, that's an interesting change in insults," Danny said in upbeat tone.

"And he is just as annoying," he sighed. "Take him."

The soldiers obeyed and tried to pick Phantom up. "Hey, I can get up myself, thanks," Danny said, before being handcuffed again.

As he was being led out of the ship, he got a good look at the city. From such a height it was like on a palm. The ship landed on a special platform of the only skyscraper. If Danny knew something about pompous fruitloops, and he was pretty sure he knew, one of them certainly lived here. Phantom's observation was interrupted by the hit in the back of his head.

"Move," was the short order and Danny complied.

The captain looked at the exchange. He sighed, shaking his head. The commander has encountered many members of alien races they enslaved. They reacted differently. Most of them were terrified, they begged to let them go, but to no avail. Some were broken and never said a word, silently obeying. Others resisted and tried to fight. Without much avail too. But this one was unique. He actually seemed to be EAGER to serve and treated them like they were conveying him to some resort. This is something unbelievable. Unless...he has something in his mind.

He needs to keep an eye on this soon to be slave.

They went to the huge door. One of the guards, armed with a spear with electro tip, approached them.

"State your business," he said.

"We brought a present for the governor Scaball," the captain pointed at Danny, who raised his eyebrow. So he is going to meet John's former master?

"Very well, you may enter," the guard stepped aside.

The escort entered through the door. It was a huge hall, covered in gold or some other metal of the same color. Big statues stood by two sides of the hall, with a lot of tables and two painted lines went through the door and straight to the throne, where supposed governor was sitting.

'A throne for a simple governor...can you imagine how their ruler lives?' Bogan commented, clearly impressed.

'He is a simple fruitloop,' Danny responded.

'When people have nothing to be proud of, they brag with their wealth,' Ashla agreed.

Scaball was a tall and muscular man with gray eyes and jet black hair tyed in...pigtails? Danny was ready to burst in laughter in a middle of the hall, but only the Force knows how he managed to hold back. The governor looked at them with curiosity.

"What's the meaning of this?!" He asked.

The captain as the rest of the soldiers bowed.

"Governor Scaball, we have brought you a slave," he answered.

Scaball's look turned fully curious. "So you have found that brat?"

"No, governor, we have found you a new one."

"Do you seriously think I'll replace my expensive Yuthanian slave with some Outlander?!"

"Not 'some Outlander', your excellence," the soldiers stepped aside and he could see an alien among them. "The unique one."

"Aww, I'm flattered," Danny grinned, much to surprise of the governor and servants passing nearby.

"He is yet to be taught his place," the captain found an excuse quickly.

Scaball hummed, rubbing his chin. He approached the ghost and grabbed his head. Danny decided not to burn him with an ectoblast from his eyes. Yet. The governor studied him closely, even lifted his higher lip and noticed sharp fangs.

"Oh, carnivorous specie," Scaball commented, like Danny was some kind of pet animal. He removed his hand. "You speak Yuthanian, Outlander?"

"I can speak many languages. My kind has an ability to understand every language, be it written or spoken," Danny answered.

"Intriguing, you may serve as translator. Tell me more about your specie."

"Nothing much, since I'm probably the only ghost you will ever see," Danny said the word 'ghost' in English, so they won't suspect anything.

"Why so?"

"Well, I was kinda banished from my homeworld, which doesn't want to leave our planet." 'And actually can't,' he added mentally.

"And why were you banished?"

"They thought I'm cursed, since my hair are white," Danny thought up a story.

"And superstitious," Scaball continued to make mental notes. "You will tell me more later, slave. I don't have time for you now. Very well, captain, I accept your gift. You may stop searching for another one. Now move him to the other slaves," he waved his huge hand.

Scaball was satisfied. He will have a slave even Her Majesty hadn't.

'Is everything still according to plan?' Ashla asked.

'You are completely right.'

-Later-

"Have a nice day, scum!" the guard laughed.

Danny was pushed inside the room as a door behind him closed. The room had a ring form, it was full of mud and dirt, with a smell of disease flying in the air. Thankfully he was naturaly resistant to them. People around were mostly aliens, by that Danny meant the ones who didn't look like Earthlings or now familiar to him Yuthanians. They all were staring at him. In a poorly lightened room he was like a walking lightbulb.

"That is quite rude to stare," Danny said, crossing his hands with a smirk. He leaned against the wall as people looked away. Who knows what this foreign even for them alien could do.

"Another unlucky one, huh?" Phantom looked down and saw an adult yuth sitting on the floor. He seemed to be about thirty years old and had brown hair and dark blue eyes.

"Well, I never could be called lucky," Danny shrugged. The man chuckled.

"At least you don't seem to be worried about it. Good for you, you'd last longer."

"Last longer?" Phantom asked.

"Well, if you don't die from illness, like that unlucky one," he pointed towards the alien who was simply lying on the ground. Everyone just passed him. "You will die from starvation, dehydration, or just fall dead because of exhaustion. Not the most shiny perspective, isn't it?"

"Yep. Look, are here any cameras in this room?"

The yuthanian snorted.

"What for? Guards are standing near the doors."

"They seem to underestimate you," Danny said thoughtfully. It will be much simpler than he predicted.

"Ha, asss if."

Two humanoids looked at the source of the voice and saw a reptiloid being, who had yellow eyes with slit black pupils and was covered in green scales.

"Back off, Bisk," the yuth spat, "This conversation is private."

"I won't call it private," Danny said enthusiastically. "If he has something to say than let's hear it."

"The guardss are armed, not only that, but they are currently behind heavy durassteel doorss," Bisk hissed. Danny laughed much to their surprise, calling attention of everyone around.

"That's...all?!" He gasped for breath he didn't need. "And here I thought that it will be harder than escaping GIW."

"GIW?"

"Let's just say they kept me captive for three months until I got out and killed about fifty of them on my way. Unarmed. I also once escaped from high security prison by leading a riot." Danny shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal.

"You want to escape?" The yuthanian asked, shocked. Phantom chuckled.

"No, I can get out whenever I want," he answered, before looking at the crowd. "You on the other hand...do you want to be out?"

"And then what?" Bisk crossed his hands. "At least we are fed here, even if portionss are sso ssmall. I don't have any placce to go, just like many of uss." Some of the people nodded.

"What then? Simple, my purpose is to get rid of this slavery regime. And I have a plan, but I require your assistance."

People started to laugh in disbelief.

"Boy, leave your childishh dreamss behind. You are a sslave jusst like all of uss."

Danny rolled his eyes, before his hand started to spark with green light and everyone backed away in fright. He waved his hand and a portal appeared. He smirked toothily.

"I can tear down a fabric of space and travel between universes and another corners of the galaxy whenever I want in a blink of an eye, and yet you all doubt me. I'm offering you a chance to be free, all you have to do is to go through this portal. This is for you to decide, you can remain unpaid and unrespected servants to this brats who never held anything besides a glass with some expensive drink, I doubt they even saw a pickaxe or even blaster. Or you can go with me and get at least a chance to get rid of their cruel grip. But be warned, your master would search for you and I doubt he will show mercy. It may not sound inspiring, but I never had an intension to sugarcoat this for you, much less lie to you. So, what do you say?"

People glanced at each other, and some of them stood up. Much less than Phantom anticipated, but that wasn't his concern. It was understandable, the brainwashing methods must have evolved in this future, too. All he needs is to show that Yuthanian government can be beaten, and with his power, it could be arranged.

The yuthanian was the first one to get up. "Aren't you worried that the guards heard you?" He asked.

Danny grinned evilly. "Oh, the guards have been taken care of."

His duplicates have already possesed them.

"Now, be my guests," Phantom gestured to the portal. People didn't seem eager to come through. He needs to show an example. "Alright, I'll go first."

Danny stepped through. The portal led inside a very spacy cave. Duplicate and John have already carried everything inside. The supplies can help them greatly in the beginning, especially the cargo full of weapons and ammo. The slaves on the other side entered one by one, managing to gain enough courage to pass through. They were amazed, was this some kind of advanced technology?

The yuthanian was the last one to go through the portal. He whistled. "Wow, nice cave."

Phantom was sitting on one of the cargos. "I know it doesn't look so presentable, but I've just arrived, plus it's only the beginning."

"DAD!" The yuthanian's eyes widened in shock, before he was hugged by John.

"Johnor! Oh, thank the gods you are alright!" He hugged his small son tightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Danny saved me from the soldiers and brought me here!"

"Danny?"

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself," Phantom said loudly, overhearing the exchange, and jumped from the cargo. "Daniel James Phantom, pleasure to meet you."

"I...don't know what to say..." the yuthanian barely mumbled.

"Your name for the beginning."

"Haseas Fendin, and if I can do anything, just say," Haseas looked at Phantom with determination. The ghost teen smiled slightly.

"That is all I need."

A.N. Yuthaneans and all the characters belonging to this race are OC. Unknown Regions are unexplored, so why Yuthaneans can't exist? I just needed some place to start from. The encounter with lore races and states will follow soon later, literally in the next chapter.

In my opinion, becoming a leader through the series of intrigues can give more interesting situations than simply destroying everyone. Not that there won't be any destruction of space armadas, but still.

Also, I have yet to decide on pairing or if there will be any. I have an idea for a romance with OC character but I don't know yet. PM me your opinion on this matter.


	4. Chapter IV: An adventure on Coruscant

Planet Coruscant had a long history. Located on the crossroads of the most important trade routes, it quickly became the central world of the Galactic Republic. It had faced many hardships, even the infamous Sacking of Coruscant, when the Sith Empire suddenly attacked and unleashed all the power of its fleet on it. It was a massacre.

The entire surface of Coruscant was covered by a sprawling kilometers-high ecumenopolis, and boasted a population of over a hundred billion to several trillion, depending on the times. Its growth was not limited to the sky; its highest skyscrapers were famous all across the galaxy, but they also extended deep inside its surface, almost reaching its core.

Couruscant was also home to the Jedi Order. Following the devastation of Ossus, their residence ever since Jedi left Tython, the Jedi Council took up residence in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, to which many Jedi relics from Ossus were taken. It grew and expanded, and became as it was now. The Temple stood on the surface level. It had four trapeze shaped walls, with five towers coming from it, by one at each corner and one in the middle. The last one was a place where the Council resided and currently was holding a meeting.

"It has been a week since the disturbance appeared and we still don't know what happened," Master Jedi Windu stated. Mace Windu was a bald brown skinned human with brown eyes. Like all the members of the Council he was sitting on a personal metal chair with red pieces of clothing.

"Indeed, it has," Master Yoda agreed. He was a small green being with long ears and a lot of big wrinkles he had earned in nine hundred years of his life."But do nothing we can. Remaining unreachable, Unknown Regions are. The exact reason of disturbance we don't know, to our doom it may lead."

"Inaction won't get us anywhere. The disturbance of such power can only be the result of the dark side's influence. We must investigate this," Mace insisted.

"The Force can guide us, this amount of disturbance of is simple to spot," one of the other masters said.

"The Force itself doesn't let any ships go through. Hyperspace corridors are too twisted, it's too dangerous."

Suddenly all the Jedi felt it again. The disturbance had grown much more powerful, as if it...became closer. No, not just closer.

"It is on Coruscant now!"

* * *

The rebels, though the name sounded like an exaggeration, had spent a week making their hideout better. Being located inside the forest, they had some useful resources, such as wood and water from the pond. After collecting food, Danny had the first try to check if it was safe for digestion. Even if he couldn't be poisoned, it still caused a great discomfort, he had learned about it when some rat poison made its way in his soda, don't ask how THAT happened. It simply was an unprecedented case of human stupidity and negligence. This water, thankfully, was safe.

All in all, there were about twenty people, including Phantom himself - not much against the country which came out in space, but small enough to hide right under the government's noses without even leaving the planet. Once they grow bigger, the Rebellion will need to expand their territory as well.

"Am I interrupting something important?"

Danny stopped his meditation, looked behind him and saw Haseas in the 'doorway'. It was simply a small curtain leading to his 'headquarters'. They actually were filled with his personal things, like books. He even made a small improvised home for his new pet hawk. Danny had yet to name her; he wanted the name to be special, fitting for a last of her kind. And Haseas had kinda become his second in command over the last week. Of all the slaves he was the most loyal to him.

"Well, nothing much. I'm doing it every day as of late," Danny said, standing up.

"Is this something about your race's religion or what?"

"No. By doing this I concentrate and maintain the balance of two sides of the Force inside of me."

"I don't have the slightest clue what are you talking about." Haseas crossed his hands.

"Really?" The two walked out of his quarters. "You don't know about Jedi? Sith? Doesn't ring any bells?"

"Nope."

"Strange, it seems that no one here knows much. Are you sure about it? It may be that you simply misplaced the Force and magic."

"Ah, THAT'S what you mean. Yes, the Divine Empress has a few 'sorcerers'."

"Hm, curious," Danny mumbled, rubbing his chin. "So, was there anything you wanted to talk with me about?"

"Oh, yes, we have a few problems, actually." Haseas rubbed the back of his head. "We are out of food already, for one thing."

"Why is it a problem? I've seen a few hogs or whatever they were. Go and shoot some, we will start on our first operation a few days later and get more supplies."

"But what if someone sees us?"

"Go out at night then...and you'd better use the bow. Blaster fire will be noticeable." Haseas nodded.

"The second problem is about medicaments. We don't have any and some people don't seem very healthy, even for slaves." He pointed towards the very pale man.

Now that was a huge matter of concern. He couldn't allow any change in plans, but the medicaments' importance was huge. They could carry some hidden disease, so medical inspection was required too. And it's not like he could just go to the shop and buy everything needed; it would look suspicious and they didn't have money...Wait, they had money, but those were Republican credits, they weren't accepted here.

'Then they will be accepted in the Republic.' Danny smirked at his thought.

"Haseas, you are the head guy until I return."

"Where are you going?"

Phantom went back to his place where he took a case full of credits. He came back to his companion after that.

Danny waved his hand and opened the portal. He was becoming a natural at this, but somehow he couldn't make a portal to the Ghost Zone. Maybe he just needed more practice. It would have made his job easier, as in his realm Phantom could materialize everything needed, including medicaments and weapons.

"I'm going on a little shopping trip on the other side of the galaxy. Be right back."

Danny grinned toothily before jumping through the portal. Haseas shook his head; this was the weirdest kid he had seen.

Phantom picked Coruscant because the quality of supplies had to be the biggest in a capital. But that was a simple guess, even if most probable one. However, Danny didn't know where exactly he would land. All he had was information about the planet, not specific places, especially when he needed the place to be secured. People tended to freak out when a tear in fabric of space appeared out of nowhere.

Danny appeared in a dark alleyway. It was completely dark, beside the end of it. Somehow it was dusty and wet in the same time, with a smell of poverty and junk in the air, just like he loved, in sarcastic way of course. This was a torture for his sensitive nose.

'Now wait there, kid.' Bogan stopped him.

"What is it?" Danny groaned.

'Don't take this tone with me, boy, or I'll start giving you a headache. What EXACTLY are you planning to do?'

"Eh...go and get supplies?"

'He is asking for another thing, young Phantom. The Jedi Temple may be on the other side of the planet, but now they all know you are here. It's a matter of time before they come after you, so you need to hurry,' Ashla advised.

'AND find something better to wear. You stand out of the crowd too much,' Bogan finished.

Danny rolled his eyes, coming out of the alleyway. That was when Danny dropped his jaw. Giant floating screens floated in the air, flying cars sped around; everything was like in the 'Fifth element' or any other sci-fi movie. Basically everything was guessed right, well, not so many things could be different. Giant buildings were everywhere. Droids patrolled the streets, showing that it wasn't the safest place to live. But there was something else: there was no sky. At all. There was only a huge ceiling gleaming with different colored lights.

"What in the both worlds is THIS?!" Danny exclaimed, completely awed at the sight.

'You are on lower levels of Coruscant,' Bogan explained. 'The place where all lowlifers live. You are below the surface of the planet. The city almost reaches to the core. Now, will you move or not?'

Danny decided not to antagonize the dark being in his mind, so he just went in a random direction, hoping to catch a taxi on his way. He hadn't much luck. All the time people glanced at his glowing body, which was a sign enough for Phantom that he should find something to put on. Danny found that confusing, Coruscant inhabitants didn't wear much different clothes. That was such hypocrisy.

Still, Phantom couldn't bring himself to be angry at them. They didn't look like prospering citizens at all, so they only caused pity.

'Ah, all this feeling of fear and despair...' Bogan took a deep breath. '...it is simply intoxicating.'

'Brother, you will not feed from it!'

'It's not like I actually CAN,' Bogan deadpanned.

Danny shook his head at the siblings' exchange. Then he saw a small clothes trader. That should do the trick. Coming in another alleyway, Phantom opened the case and took up a handful of small currency. He had a feeling that doing it in public could only end badly. This sort of folk didn't look friendly. He bought a black robe with a hood, made of very soft material and thankfully without any sign of alien lice or mold. There must be some catch because of how cheap they were. It was probably made by workers who were paid half credit for one hour.

Bogan laughed. 'My, my, you now look like a true dark side follower!'

'And again you go against your own words. You say you don't want me to fall to either side, but you are eager when I do something dark.'

'Well, I might get excited a bit. Don't deny it, kid, you like your new look.'

'Brother,' Ashla said threateningly. For the first time since they met, Danny noted.

'Relax, sister. All his PREVIOUS actions are that of a light side, let the kid have some fun for HIMSELF. It's not like he has done anything dark yet, anyway.'

'Do I have any saying in this?'

'Of course you do, Danny,' Ashla answered in her calm and kind tone again. 'It is for you to decide your actions. But that doesn't mean that I like to agree with brother, even when he is right. Just don't get too far if you decide to follow his advices.'

'Well, that depends on situation and my acquaintances' will to cooperate,' Danny shrugged.

Suddenly he felt that something tugged his arm harshly, probably trying to get the case Danny was holding. It didn't work; the ghost teen's grip was deadly. Phantom looked behind and saw a guy with trianglular head and squid-like mouth, meaning that there were two big teeth on the higher gum and only one on the lower, which could fit between the higher teeth when the mouth was closed. Four tentacles were hanging from the ends of the mouth. He looked frightened when Phantom grabbed his hand.

"Is there any particular reason you tried to get my belongings, hm?" Danny asked calmly, and his neon eyes shining through the darkness of the hood.

"I...eh..."

"If you don't want me to call the police, you will help me with my little dilemma."

"W-what dilemma?"

"I'm looking for a place where I can get medical supplies, and most preferably a medical droid. You know any?"

"Y-yes, I'll show you." Danny let go of the quarren, who rubbed his sore arm. The grip had been just too tight. The quarren sighed. "Follow me."

"Don't try to run away," Phantom threatened, seeing that his captive was eager to get as far as he could. "You won't be able to."  
The quarren gulped and nodded. He wouldn't test his luck. After walking through the crowd and going down a few levels, they were standing on a sidewalk of this 'street'.

"It's over there." The quarren pointed at the shop on the other side of the street. "Now, can I go?"

"Yeah, yeah, thanks and all that, now move on." Danny waved his hand nonchalantly, before his guide almost ran for it. Then Phantom realized that there was no way he could get to another side of the pit. Oh, wait, he was a ghost, of course there was a way. Hiding yet again behind a pile of crates he became invisible and flew to the other side, where he became visible again. He had forgotten to become intangible, so he was slightly hit by a car on his way. It wasn't pleasant.

Phantom went inside the shop. It wasn't a casual pharmacy. Instead of the ever present white color, which in such amount made Danny sick by known reasons, it looked just as dark as the rest of the Coruscant literal Underworld. It looked more like some kind of shady pawnshop. Maybe that was because of all the metal bars separating two sides of the shop.

"Ah, a customer!" A huge toad-like alien with four hands appeared behind the counter. "How can I be of assistance?"

"I'm looking for a medical droid. Do you have any?"

"You'd better ask what model I don't have! Which one do you need? Good old 2-1B? Or maybe a few Fixits?"

Danny hid his awkward lack of knowledge about droids under a calm face. "I'd like to see them first."

The shopkeeper went into the back of the shop and returned with a few droids. The first one walked on two legs, with two needles instead of a left hand, and a normal right hand. It had white LED eyes and a speaker which looked like microphone. Another droid looked a lot like Dalek from 'Doctor Who'. It was moving on small wheels and had a lot of hands, each of them ending with medical tools.

"Here they are. These little guys are in perfect condition. I recommend using them together, since they are programmed to cooperate."

"Nice trade trick," Danny chuckled, putting a hand on his chin. "Do they require any special treatment?"

"Well, FX needs to refill its bacta tanks from time to time. I can sell you some extra ones. Not to mention all the other serums."

"Hm," Phantom hummed. "Let's suggest that I don't have anything to charge them with..."

"Not a problem. I know one mechanic; he can make them charge from solar energy, for an additional payment, of course."  
Danny nodded. "Very well, I'll buy them. Also, I'd like to purchase medpacks."

"How much?" The shop owner took a PDA and stylus - oh, this future was Tucker's personal heaven...Danny's mood dropped drastically and he felt like a stone was shoved down his throat, but he still needed to do his job.

"As much as I can for what will be left." Danny put his case in front of the trader and opened it. His eyes became wide as saucers.

"Are...are you sure you can carry all the stuff from here?"

"That's none of your concern," Danny raised his hand. "Just for the note. If for example I've encountered yet unknown species...will they be safe for them?"

"Hm...I'm not completely sure about the other medicaments...but bacta is completely safe for any species. Droids can check the safety, anyway."

"When will my shipment be ready?"

"By the evening, if nothing happens."

Danny didn't look pleased, since he needed to hurry, but there was nothing he could do about it. "Where should I wait for the shipment?"

"Warehouse five, sector G-3HL, my man will meet you there."

Phantom left the building. This didn't go as well as he expected. The Jedi were probably already half way there and he needed to wait for an evening. And he hadn't any food since yesterday. Maybe it was for the best; he was getting sick of those bars, anyway. If only he could reach the Ghost Zone, he won't have needed it at all. Without ectoplasm he needed food to restore his energy. Plus, eating food eased the fact that Danny was fully dead now. It wasn't the easiest thing to get used to.

'Oh, stop being so angsty, kid,' Bogan said.

'I'm not 'angsty',' Danny responded.

'Really? You just stand here, leaning on the edge of the sidewalk, with rain pouring down on you...seems pretty depressing for me.'

Phantom looked up. 'It's just a broken pipe, not rain,' he continued to stare on into the distance.

'Danny, please, don't be like that,' Ashla gently asked. 'I understand that it is still hard for you, any reminder is painful, and I am in no way asking you to forget about them, since I know how much you cared for your friends and sister. But eventually, you will have to let go.'

"Thanks, that helps a lot," Danny deadpanned verbally.

'I think I know what might cheer you up,' Bogan said excitedly. 'The Jedi are on their way...'

'And...'

'And you can travel to another part of the planet in a blink. How about a little game?'

That was when Phantom smirked widely.

* * *

The Jedi Council had decided that it was too dangerous to send one or two Jedi. Yet, if the whole Order just goes under the planet's surface it would not only look suspicious, but downright odd. So they decided to get down through different entrances in small groups. Everyone wondered how the disturbance got all the way here in a matter of seconds, and, most importantly, why was it here, but one thing was for sure, they needed to stop it.

"Master Yoda, you alright?" Windu asked.

The Jedi Master sighed, looking down at the rotten Underground World from their transport.

"A great sorrow, I felt."

"I felt it, too. Do you think someone was harmed?"

"Fear I do sense, but not the disturbance is its cause. But as emotions grow, the disturbance stronger becomes."

"Do you have any ideas of what that might be?"

Yoda only grimly shook his head in response. Then he felt a wave of childish mischief where the sorrow once was. That was...unusual.

The two Jedi stopped and got to the sidewalk. The disturbance was as easy to spot as a turned on projector in a middle of the night. It was moving, nevertheless, and the jedi followed. After many turns and passageways they realized that it stopped before moving on much slower pace. The Force led them straight to one of the many bars of the Underworld.

"Come inside, you must, Master Windu," Yoda said, "If in there is the one we are searching for, intercept him outside I will."

Mace nodded and entered the building.

That proved to be harder than expected. Apparently, the disturbance was so intense, that it covered the radius of at least twenty meters, and the source was almost impossible to determine since they entered this 'field', too. Mace walked around, searching for the source directly, while Yoda situated comfortably on the bench outside and closed his eyes.

The bar was full of bright blue and red light, as well as lowlife scum. Vulgar dressed waitresses, gambling games, what else could a visitor of such place dream about? Probably only good music. A slow melody of unknown genre, featuring a lot of wind instruments, started to play. It was actually jazz, and the song was sung by a certain white haired young man. Windu didn't notice the huge smirk on his face.

(Better listen to the cover of this song by Max Raabe. The original was far worse in my opinion)

I think I did it again  
I made you believe we're more than just friends  
Oh baby  
It. Might seem like a crush  
But it doesn't mean that I'm serious  
'Cause to lose all my senses  
That is just so typically me!

Windu was watching the suspicious man in the far end of the room. But after reaching with the Force he felt nothing. It wasn't the one they were searching for.

Oh baby, baby,  
Oops, I did it again  
I played with your heart, got lost in the game  
Oh baby, baby.  
Oops, you think I'm in love  
That I'm sent from above  
I'm not that innocent.

People around seemed to like the song a lot, some of them even cheered. They ignored the fact that the singer appeared out of nowhere, and the musicians played what he needed.

You see my problem is this  
I'm dreaming away  
Wishing that heroes, they truly exist  
I cry, watching the days  
Can't you see I'm a fool in so many ways  
But to lose all my senses  
That is just so typically me!

'C'mon, dear Jedi, how much time it's gonna take for you to figure out? The song is almost finished!' Danny exclaimed mentally.

Oh baby, oh,  
Oops, I did it again  
I played with your heart, got lost in the game  
Oh baby, baby  
Oops, you think I'm in love  
That I am sent from above  
I'm not. That. Innocent!

'I'm giving you a damn tip! Common!'

Danny bowed slightly to the crowd under loud clapping with a grin on his face. He glanced at the Jedi Master, who was asking the bartender if he had seen anything strange. The bartender looked back at Danny and the ghost teen jumped from the stage with his back turned to the Jedi Master. It was time to leave.

"Hey, wait there!" Mace shouted, approaching him.

"Sorry, I gave you a chance, but you are too laate," Phantom said in singsong voice without turning back and shutting close the metal door.  
Mace tried to open the door, but it was locked. He turned on his lightsaber and prepared to cut through, but then he saw a bright green light coming through the small slits, before it subdued and the disturbance was gone. Windu still cut through, despite all complaints of the bar visitors. Much to his shock, there was no one in that room.

"How is that possible?" He muttered.

Joda appeared out of nowhere. "Inform the others, we must. Very quickly the disturbance moves."

"This disturbance is caused by a kid!"

"Very deceiving, appearances can be. Especially when the dark side is its cause."

* * *

Phantom got bored of his game after five more times. Sure, they tried harder and harder with each time, but he was getting out of his creativeness. One time he sent three Jedi on a nice trip down the sewers, another time he just froze them over and freed them ten minutes later once he got away. He even played a waiter once; it required possession, though. Oh, well, it was not like he was planning to do something evil, right? There he was also able to eat. Then everything he could do was to make a few groups walk into each other, creeping them out with laughter coming out of nowhere.

Yet again, Danny was bored of toying with them, which both relaxed and worried the Jedi. Now he was sitting on the top of their Temple, simply enjoying how the twilight ecumenopolis looked like and waiting until the Jedi figure out where he was. It was obviously a place for rich enough people. Those skyscrapers fit their name; they reached far, far above the clouds. The shining city below gleamed like an ocean reflecting the sunlight.

'It's definitely not Sam's type of planet.' Danny smiled slightly.

'How so?' Ashla asked.

'You saw my memories. She would have flipped out here' not a single tree on the whole planet!' He chuckled. 'Though I bet Tucker would have agreed to live even on the low levels just for a chance to stay here.' Danny jumped on his legs and stretched his muscles.

"I think it's time I catch a taxi."

With that he jumped down and landed on his feet without making a sound. Phantom walked to the edge of the piece of land where the Temple stood. There he caught a taxi without many hardships.

"Where to?" The driver asked.

"Sector G3-HL, warehouse five."

"Sure, but credits first." the driver looked back at his passenger.

"I don't have any." Danny raised his hand. "But you will drive me there for free," he waved it and the driver's eyes widened.

"I'll drive you for free," he said and looked back on the road.

The road went silent as the city became darker and darker. Danny looked at the electronic clocks out of the window and saw that it was six PM. Apparently this planet spun around its axis almost as fast as Earth. Being in a flying car was an unusual experience. It wasn't nearly as good as flying by himself, but the experience still was priceless.

The taxi stopped near a platform and Phantom started to get out of the car, when the driver looked back again.

"Are you going to pay or not?"

'Effects must have worn off,' Danny thought, "You are going to go away and forget about meeting me." He waved his hand and the driver obeyed.

Phantom turned around and his eyes widened. The warehouse was enormous! It was about hundred meters tall and Ancients knew how wide. The warehouse number was painted on a wall over the doors. Shaking out of his stupor, Danny took his way to the huge building. People were fussing around and simply did their work, as the working day was yet to be over. That was making his task a little harder; how was he supposed to move his stuff?

"Hey, you! What are you doing here?" One of the guards asked him. Danny turned to the soldier.

"Why such harshness? I'm just here to take my shipment." The armed man stood aside. Danny went inside, rolling his eyes.

'If the entire galaxy consists of stupid brutes then I'd better return to Earth,' he deadpanned mentally.

Once inside, Phantom looked around for the one who needed to show him the way. Then he felt a tap on his shoulder. Danny looked down and saw another Cthulhu wannabe. Wait a minute...

"Aren't you the guy who tried to steal my money?" Phantom asked. The quarren seemed to recognize him too and backed off.

"I...eh..."

"Is that how you greet everyone you meet?" Danny chuckled, trying to show him that he wasn't in trouble.

"You are the one the shipment is for?"

"Yep, lead the way. Again."

The quarren walked to the side and Danny followed. Despite the calmer atmosphere, Phantom could see and sense that his old/new guide was very tense.

"You are not going to tell the police about me, are you?" he asked.

"I promised that I won't if you show me the road," Danny responded. "I'm a man of my word. Unless...it was a trick to advertise your boss' shop..." He narrowed his eyes.

The quarren laughed nervously. Phantom sighed, rubbing his temples.

"As long as the quality of my supplies is satisfying, I don't care."

The quarren gulped and hoped that the man was saying the truth. He pressed some combination on the panel and opened the door. There were seven gray boxes stacked in a pile, as well as two droids standing nearby. They were turned off, and now had special dark panels on tops of their heads, most probably for solar energy.

"Leave me," Danny said, confusing the alien.

"Don't you need someone to carry...?"

"I'll do everything myself, thanks, now go," Phantom waved his hand and the thief/guide/loader preferred not to argue.

Then Danny felt that he wasn't alone. But this time, it was something dark. Something similar to Dan seemed to radiate, too, Phantom did subconsciously feel that once when he fought against that monster. Cold, merciless, and without any sign of warm feelings. Taking into account a huge force potential of the person behind him, it led to only one assumption.

"And here I was wondering how long it is going to take for a Sith to appear," Phantom said dryly, looking behind and receiving a low cracking chuckle.

"My boy, it was indeed a matter of time." A person stepped out of the shadows.

He was dressed in a black robe too. The only thing the hood was showing was the person's chin. He wasn't very tall;he was a few inches smaller than Danny. The power he radiated was bigger than what you would expect from an old man, judging from his voice.

"Pal, someone needs to introduce you to cough pills. You could really use one," Phantom said sarcastically, crossing his hands and leaning against the crates.

"What can I do with it? I'm simply an old man," the Sith said with fake sadness in his voice.

"Like that ever stopped the Sith from doing their evil Sith things." Danny rolled his eyes. "You seem to be waiting for me. How did you know I'll be coming here?"

"The Sith merely have our own view of things, child, but that doesn't make us evil. You underestimate my abilities, child. The one you traded with told me about your order."

'Alright, this one is a cunning little...' Bogan started, but the person continued.

"Why do you need so much medicaments?" He asked.

"Well, I lead a small rebellion against the empire in the Unknown Regions, nothing much."

A small smile appeared on the Sith Lord's face. If Phantom hadn't seen such a smile before, he would have assumed that it was genuine.

"This is really curious, my boy. Tell me, how did you manage to get there?" Now the Sith sounded like a kind grandfather.  
Danny laughed, throwing his head back.

"Better ask how I got from there, here. I was born in that part of the galaxy. And I'm not going to share this information with every stranger who doesn't even show his face. Sorry for being so straightforward, but that simply doesn't help with negotiations."

"I...apologize, but I cannot reveal myself by the same reasons. I don't know about your intentions, child. You cause the disturbance inside both sides of the Force and it's hard determine to which you belong. It will be such a disappointment if such power goes to waste..."

"Stop it right there," Danny raised his hand. "Are...are you asking me to join the Dark Side? Because if you do, then it will prove to be a disappointment. I didn't travel in time to repeat the same stupid mistakes."

Phantom could feel a huge wave of surprise coming from the Sith.

"You are a very peculiar child," he said. "But you can't deny that it's a part of you."

"I never said I am saint and naive. I don't believe in Jedi ideals either. But I'm not going to jump from one end to the other."  
The person's smile widened. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard after all.

"And I'm not trying to push you over the edge, dear boy. You may learn both sides, I'll merely teach you the ways of the Dark side. Consider my offer, and contact me when you decide."

The old man approached Danny and put a communicator in his hand, before leaving as suddenly as he arrived.


	5. Chapter V: Starting to expand

The rebels were shifting nervously under Phantom's narrowed gaze. It sent shivers down their spines as he obviously wasn't pleased.

"That was just pathetic," Danny shook his head. "I told you to shoot at the target. But the only thing you hit was air, and yet I am ready to bet you missed the atoms the air is made of!"

He indeed wasn't happy. They have been exercising ever since Phantom brought them here, and the results were yet to be shown. Some were getting better, but the most couldn't even hit the target itself, not to mention bull's eye.

"What I want you to understand," Danny went on, "Is that the soldiers won't go easy on any of you. For them you are ducks they were sent to hunt. Animals, who are good only to be a prey. Our primary target is to prove overwise. We must show the government, and most importantly, other slaves, that we must be taken seriously."

"What's the point?" One of them exclaimed, "I was a simple farmer, everything I can do is to work with the soil and grow plants!"

Danny looked him straight in the eyes with a contemplating expression on his face.

"Maybe so," he responded quietly, but everyone still heard it clearly. "But look at me, who do you think I was in my homeworld, hm?"

The young alien tried to find an answer, but Phantom raised his hand, signaling that he didn't need an answer in the first place.

"I never was meant to or ever planned on being what you see now. When I was a kid, I dreamed about being a space pioneer. Explore new worlds, see new places..." he chuckled, as if the entire idea seemed ridiculous to him. "But my grades told otherwise. Since I didn't have time to study, I barely managed to pass exams."

"You don't seem stupid," Haseas raised his eyebrow and Danny laughed.

"Thanks for the compliment, but knowledge and what I studied are different things. Sure, I can build blasters in comparison to which this ones are pieces of crap. Yet, I'm not very good at Math. And, again, I didn't have time to study. What was I doing, you may ask, well, that's complicated. My birth parents were...are," he spat, "scientists. Not everyone can punch a hole in another dimension. Especially if this is dimension where souls go after death."

Everyone fell silent.

'Ah, yeah, they are religious bunch,' Danny remembered.

"And all in all, they were too stupid to close the gateway. What for? They can study another world as much as they want, and 'Phantom' will deal with everything what comes out of there, And yes, it wasn't my birth name. It was simply a nickname I worked under. Actually, it was more like a survival, either I beat and send them where they belong, or they kill me. My point..."

He took the blaster, spun around and started to fire. Each of his shots hit the target dead on, and everyone's jaw hit the floor. Shooting from blaster and his hands felt different for Phantom, but years of practice spoke for themselves.

"...is that no one is born for something. You are what you want, and now you need to be soldiers. Try again."

-Later-

Danny was entertaining himself with the only thing he could do at the moment. Feeding his small pet with another bird. The nestling was growing quite fast. In a week and a half she already got her white fur and could walk on small legs, even if very slow and clumsy. Phantom was often helping the birdie to get up. It caused him to smile every time. The fact that the most ferocious carnivore was so helpless sounded unusually deep. She actually had taken liking in him. The nestling loved to nuzzle against his touch.

Danny made a bite of his own diner. He ate the same food as his pet, namely one of the birds they shot and brought here. Once fried over campfire, it tasted like turkey.

'You are thinking about that sith, don't you?' Ashla asked.

'Yes,' Danny leaned back against the rocky wall, glancing at the communicator on his table.

'Sith are known to be cunning and deceiving, you must never trust him.'

'I never planned to, but there was something about him I can't shake off. Maybe it was because of how familiar it felt.'

'You mean THAT guy?' Bogan asked, carefully avoiding calling Danny's most hated enemy by name. He knew Phantom didn't like it. Danny nodded, staring on the opposite wall.

'If this old man is anything like Dan, of which I don't have many doubts, then I better keep an eye on him.'

'Don't hurry too much, kid. One thing at the moment. You are leading rebellion, remember? I doubt he is keeping track of your actions.'

Danny sighed quietly. 'Yeah, I guess you are right.'

"Hey Danny," Johnor came inside the room with a grin on his face.

"Hey there, John," Phantom smiled slightly. "What are you doing here?"

"Dad sent me to tell that they are ready!"

Danny chuckled, before getting up. "Well, let's not keep them waiting."

"Can I stay with birdie?" John pleaded.

"Hm...as long as you don't take her out of her cage. And be careful, she bites painfully."

John nodded and sat near the cage, waiting for the bird to do anything interesting, which made Danny chuckle again, before he turned away and walked out. Phantom was greeted by a sight of his small group. They were already armed and prepared for their first mission. Danny smiled as he felt determination radiating off his subordinates. Haseas stepped forward.

"Well, boss, what's your plan?" He asked with a smirk.

Danny put a device on the ground in the center and a hologram appeared. It was a map of the capital.

"Since I arrived on this planet, I got a few...associates among the guards, you may say. And so, I got an information where exactly they are hiding their supplies. And that's here," a needed building changed its color from casual blue to red.

"So, we are going to steal the supplies?"

Danny smiled mysteriously in response.

"Yes and no. I want the soldiers to think that that is our target. While in reality we are going to pay a visit to one of the biggest slave owners of the country."

An image of a man appeared. For a slave owner he looked quite stereotypical. With a look on his face which didn't show much intelligence, an uncountable number of fat chins and dressed in ridiculous clothes, which are probably the most fancy ones here.

"Rylkes Tebnock? Are you serious?" Haseas exclaimed. "His mansion is probably the second most guarded place on the planet!"

"Exactly," Danny said, completely nonphased. "And that's precisely why we need to distract the guards for a while. Our main task is to free the slaves he is holding. To show everyone what our purpose is and that our rebellion isn't doomed to failure," he chuckled. "Now we need to split up in three groups. First group must plant the explosives we have in this place," Danny pointed at one of the buildings. "We will bluff and the same time we will not. It is positioned on needed distance from both the mansion and the warehouse. Let them think we are trying to lure them away from the second one."

"Still, I'll make a portal to the warehouse. The second group must carry as much as possible from there. Once you call attention, come back and call me. I'll close it."

"But why can't you do everything? You are a sorcerer!" One of the rebels said.

"The praise is appreciated, but unneeded. But if I do everything, it won't cause the same effect. We need to show that we are the organization, is that clear?"

He received multiple slow nods of understanding.

"Now, the third group, led by me, must infiltrate the mansion itself. Haseas, you told me that you served Tebnock for some time. Do you still remember how it is from inside?"

"So that's why you asked," Haseas mumbled, "Yes, I do remember."

"Then you will come with me. Every second is precious to us. We will start in midnight. Have a good sleep until then, it will be a long and eventful night."

-Later-

Scaball was in his cabinet, staring at the city below with a look of anger and exasperation on his face. It has been two week since his slaves were gone, and they were still nowhere to be found. He was ready to bet that this 'Phantom' had something to do with it. But how, that was a good question. When he interrogated the guards they swore that no one left or entered. But also they both said that they got some strange feeling of cold inside. There was also a huge time gap in their memory. Could Phantom somehow affect people's memories?

"Hm...ghosts..." he mumbled, rubbing his chin. There must be some mention of this race somewhere.

He walked to his table and started to search in holonet for any information. It didn't go well. He couldn't find anything at all. This race wasn't yet encountered, and that concerned him. How was this possible, they thought they knew about all the races of their part of the galaxy. What if he is a spy...no, if that was the case he would have to go to the empire capital. Then he was sent to cause dissent, so they will be an easy prey. The question is, who sent him?

The chiss obviously envied them, it is logical if they did it. But they were isolationists, and very fierce for that matter. No matter how much they sent, yuthanian fleets were always crushed. It could be that the chiss decided to retaliate, though. And that was something to be worried about.

Other possibilities seemed so unrealistic, that Scaball waved them away. Skii-ruu? Bah, that lizards didn't cooperate with anyone besides their own race. Not that the yuth were much different, but such thought didn't cross his mind. Plus, Yuthanean empire wasn't even bordering them, they were on the end of the galaxy, while the yuth were the closest to the center. That was their personal pride.

Don't even get started on Kiliks. If those insects wanted to expand, which by itself sounded ridiculous, then they would have invaded the skii-ruu, since they were neighbors. And yet there were the cases when they subdued the members of other races to join their hive mind. Scaball shuddered at the thought.

Then he recalled Phantom's words.

'I'm probably the only ghost you will ever see.'

Could it be that he is the last one of his specie? Then he should search for the planet which faced some kind of apocalypse. AND the one which once had certain conditions for evolution to make Phantom's kind like it is now. It could be a shadow world, hence the light radiating off him. Now the governor has something to start from, at least.

"I will find you, brat, no one runs away from Scaball."

He was ready to make a sip of his drink, when a loud explosion boomed across the whole city. Scaball almost dropped his glass out of surprise, before running to the window. He saw a building far on a distance, engulfed in fire, with a line of smoke reaching to the sky. It was a place where his statue once stood. If Scaball's orange skin could become redder, he would be as red as the drink in his glass, which he broke by clenching his fist.

"Phantom," he growled.

Named ghost teen meanwhile grinned in pride from his hiding place. Group B has done its purpose well. Blowing up the monument was a genius idea offered by the one he put in command of that group. Scaball was an arrogant fool, if you destroy his statue, then he won't wait too long to arrive. Danny looked in direction of the mansion.

It was a very harmonic mixture of white stone and golden ornaments. It wasn't that huge by itself, but all the gardens, ponds and small houses there and there. Danny remembered how Sam once told him how her parents took her out of the city to their fancy mansion. She didn't like it in the slightest. Phantom didn't like it too. Because he missed her.

Just as he predicted, the guards were surprised by the explosion, and most of them ran to see what happened there. Danny turned on the communicator in his ear.

"Thonor, what about the guards?"

"Not good, boss, some of them were ordered to stand down. They are still patrolling the perimeter."

Thonor was one of the members of the rebellion, who was assigned with a job to watch over their enemies and inform about their movements, since the members of his race were gifted with a brilliant eyesight and night vision.

"Flames, now what we are...I got an idea."

"Never doubted you, sir."

Phantom looked back at his men.

"Alright, folks, change in plans, you will have to get the slaves alone. Now, we all know that in combat soldiers will most possibly get you. So do not engage them in fight until you have absolute superiority in numbers, AND do it quick and quiet, just as I taught you. Haseas, you will lead this group. Contact me when you find the slaves."

"Roger that."

"Wait until my signal. You will recognize it when you see it."

To the rebels' awe Danny became invisible. Everything they saw were imprints on stomped grass. And when Phantom got to the stony pavement, he didn't leave a single trace. He walked unnoticed right in front of patrols Danny then flew up through the opened window. The mansion was just as pompous on the inside as it was outside. Phantom then reached to the Force without dropping his invisibility. He found what he was searching for. Danny took his way to his target.

He saw a door guarded by two soldiers, but wasn't concerned in the slightest. He simply phased through. It was a bedroom, belonging to the owner of the mansion. And Rylkes was pacing around like headless chicken, and wearing night pajamas.

It was about time Danny revealed himself. He came to the man from behind and pointed something to the back of his head. Rylkes jumped in shock and terror.

"Well hello there," Danny grinned.

"W-who are you?"

"Ah, yes, I believe we are not introduced properly. Daniel Phantom, the one who is pointing a blaster at you."

"You are the one who ran from Scaball!"

"I was in there only because I wanted to."

"GUARDS!" Rylkes exclaimed.

The soldiers immediately ran inside the room, but stopped abruptly once they saw what was going on.

"Guards, help me!"

"Eh, sir, he is pointing a tree branch at you."

"Awe, I wanted to know how long it is going to take for him to figure out," Danny laughed.

He pushed his captive forward and right into the guards. Using their surprise, he used the Force to pull their blasters right into his own hands.

"You know what they say back at my home? Once a year even branch can shoot. However...blaster shoots faster."

He pressed two triggers and shot. Rylkes screamed so loud that even the rebels heard it. All the guards heard it too and ran inside. Haseas guessed it was the signal. After receiving a confirmation from Thonor that the path was clear, he and his comrades took their way to the place where the slaves were kept.

Under Haseas' guidance they got to the small door in the back of the mansion. They went through the maze of the same corridors, thankfully without the soldiers guarding them. Then they stopped near one particular door. Once they opened it, a poorly lightened staircase was everything they saw. Haseas ordered to stay alarmed, since there were usually guards downstairs. His assumption was right, those two hadn't heard the screaming, or they were very responsible. Either way, they were an obstacle the rebels needed to pass through. On a signal on three, they got out of their cover, sitting on their knees and shooting at them. The guards didn't have time to react and were down after the first blasts.

There was one confusing and shocking part. Instead of simply hitting and killing, red beams pierced through the guards' and left scorch marks on the wall behind. Phantom should hear about this later, but they now had a mission.

They got to the door and tried to open it, but it was closed tight. Haseas noticed a panel. A panel which required a password to open the door.

"Shit," Haseas put a finger on his communicator, "Phantom, the door needs password, we can't get through!"

"How inconvenient," Danny mumbled.

He was now holding Rylkes a hostage, now pointing a real blaster to his head. That blasts he did weren't aimed at the guards and the slaver, he missed on purpose in order to call attention. In a short hand-to-hand combat Danny knocked out the guards and captured Tebnock. And even being surrounded by his goons didn't phase Phantom at all.

"What's inconvenient?" Rylkes whimpered.

"Relax, I'm not thinking about you."

"Let him go, scumbag!" One of the guards ordered.

Danny only laughed in response.

"I don't think you are in position to demand anything from me," he said, making the guards want to kill him even more. Some wriggled their fingers near the trigger.

"Don't shoot!" Rylkes shouted.

"Right, you don't want your payer to be dead, do you?" Danny asked, situating his captive in more comfortable position. For himself, not Rylkes. "Now, mind telling me the access codes?" He looked at Rylkes.

"Why do you think I'll tell you?"

"Because I can kill you, what kind of question is that?"

"If you kill me then the guards will kill you."

"I'm afraid it's too late for this. Now. The password."

Danny used his aura to make Rylkes fear him even more. Maybe it should boost his contemplation a little.

"A-alright, H2Y65R, that's the password!"

Haseas heard everything through the communicator and entered the code. The door slid open, revealing another huge room where the slaves were living. Everyone's eyes turned to the rebels.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen, if you want to be free, follow us," Haseas said with a grin.

Danny meanwhile tried to distract the guards as much as he could. Thankfully, he could discuss a lot of things, he was gifted with a very talkative mouth. He learned a lot of information about this country during this conversation, well, more like they blurted it out. But from all the pieces of information Danny got an idea for his further actions.

'What's taking them so long?' He thought with irritation.

"What's the point of your actions?" Rylkes asked, his fear turning into anger. "You are holding me for half an hour already. What do you want?"

Danny glanced out of the window and saw that his subordinates were leading a pretty big group of people. He moved in front of it, closing the view. And since it was the only window not covered by curtains, no one saw anything. And Danny realized that it was time to say some very paphos phrase.

"I want many things, none of which you can actually give. You, my friend, are merely a tool with which I'll get what I'm looking for. But I indeed held you here long enough. I already got what I came for. Death to the Empress!"

Danny jumped through the window, grinning at their stunned faces. On his flight down he opened the portal and fell through it, before landing on their meeting point. It was more painful than he expected. Apparently it was like in Portal game series, where acceleration of free fall is applied even when going through the portal.

"Ouch," was Danny's reaction.

"You alright, boss?" Haseas asked.

"Nah, I don't have a single bone in my body to be broken," Phantom got up on his feet.

"Wait, YOU are their leader?" One of the slaves asked incredulously.

"Yep. Now," Phantom opened another portal. "Come in, we shall discuss everything once we are in safety."

The slaves were reluctant at first, so the rebels showed the example.

"So, boss, what exactly were you doing in there?" Haseas asked his leader as their comrades were walking through the portal.

"I had a friendly conversation with Rylkes. AND I got an idea how to grow our power even more. Tell me, does anyone here know how to control a dreadnought?"


	6. Chapter VI: A change in plans

During his conversation, Phantom managed to make the guards blurt out the things he wanted to know. Among that information was a mention of one massive shipyard a few systems away. It was said as a threat, something along the lines that he had no chance of winning, since they had an army and an enormous fleet. And since the rebellion now needed more space, why not steal a dreadnought? There was one dilemma, though: no one knew how to pilot a simple starfighter, much less a dreadnought, which required hundreds of crew members.

Phantom sent his duplicate to learn more about the new ship they were constructing. And Danny was finally enjoying the futuristic atmosphere around him. However, the beginning of his journey wasn't pleasant. It was revealed to him that the shipyard was based not just near some random planet, but a gas giant. He didn't know this beforehand, and had teleported to where its surface was supposed to be. Thankfully, Danny was resourceful enough not to be turned into a pancake by the planet's gravitation. He simply became intangible.

It was one of the simplest laws of physics. While intangible, he weighed absolutely nothing, and if you weighed nothing, gravity didn't apply to you. That was why he never fell through the floor while sleeping and couldn't control his abilities; instead he floated up and fell on his bed once he woke up. That was why he always locked his door.

There was a very thick fog of unknown gas through which he couldn't see. Phantom assumed that it was night on this half of the planet. Danny made another portal and teleported higher and into orbit. Being in a vacuum felt different from simply flying. In flight he had control; here, however, he didn't.

It was rather amusing for Danny to see how invincible he was in space. Ghosts were beings from another dimension, which was governed by completely different laws, and thus they were granted immunity to many things. Even the deadly coldness of space and enormous amounts of sun radiation couldn't do anything to him. Radiation affected cells of your body, but he didn't have any, only ectoplasm. And even if he was slowly turning into a floating icicle, Phantom almost didn't feel anything. But all these perks didn't mean that he didn't miss being half-human.

What he saw on the planet's orbit was breathtaking. It was one mega construction, a huge ring about twenty miles in diameter. There were numerous ships in construction connected to it. They differed in size, starting from bigger ones, which were about 1-2 miles in length, smaller ones, about three hundred meters, and even starfighters; but they were made inside the ring, on a production line, which was visible through illuminator, or some kind of energy field. It was a strange design decision, and very unthoughtful.

"Guess this is a shipyard," Danny said, but his voice disappeared in the vastness of space.

He then felt how his saliva got frozen. He spewed an icy chunk before shutting his mouth, and flew straight to the ring, before phasing through the wall. Phantom instantly regretted his decision. Of all the places he just needed to get into foundry. The heat was killing him. Danny used his ice powers to cool everything around himself down. He sighed in content with a dreamy grin on his face.

"Hey, what the hell just happened?"

On that Danny shot up and looked for a source of the voice. There were two workers in the same orange costumes, all covered in ash, and Phantom could only make out the dull glowing red eyes one of them had. One of the workers shivered, while another, the one with red eyes, didn't seem to care.

"I don't know. Probably nitrogen leak. Move on, before someone sees that we aren't working."

"But what if something blows up?"

"Not our concern, it's the repair droids' job. Probably we will finally get a day off."

And with that they were gone. Danny let a sigh of relief, out of habit. He phased one floor lower just to get away from the intense heat. Alright, he wasn't all that invincible.

Now he was in some kind of huge storage room. Landing softly on his feet, Danny started to look around without dropping his invisibility. He needed some way to disguise himself. Being invisible 24/7 could exhaust his core too much, and he would require ectoplasm, ectoplasm he didn't have. While thinking, he saw a patrol coming his way. Danny stepped to the side, before following them from behind.

Two soldiers were wearing the same armor like the ones on Valor'rum, with the exception of their color. The armor was black with red outlines. Two helmets were on their heads, a stupid decision for guards, but very convenient for Phantom, since the helmet could help to hide your face. But he needed to acquire the clothes unnoticeably, and all the cameras around didn't help the matter.

"So, have you heard what happened yesterday?" One of the soldiers asked, causing the second soldier to scoff.

"Who hadn't? It was all over holonet. Damn terrorists."

"You have to admit, though. That monument was ugly." The soldier laughed.

"I don't know, I never was on that gods forsaken planet, much less saw the statue before it became a pile of rocks. I'm more interested in what Phantom is."

That was when Danny started to listen more closely out of curiosity.

"What is there to think about? A demon, what else? Even the Sorcerers can't disappear in the thin air like he did."

"Maybe...but it can also be that he is just more skillful than they are. At least someone can wipe out their snobbish attitude."

"It sounds like treason."

"It's a fact. I met them once. You would have agreed with me if you met them too. They are way too arrogant for people who only can lift objects without hands and throw sparks in the air."

'Huh,' Danny thought, 'So they use the Dark side,' he assumed.

'Obviously.' Phantom could almost feel the weight of Bogan's sarcasm. 'Force lighting always looks more powerful than simple telekinesis. Are you going to kill them? I can't wait to see their expressions once you show them the true power!'

'Depending on situation.' Danny shrugged. 'I don't want to kill for no reason. AND. Threatening to kill isn't the same thing as actually doing it.'

'Be careful, young Phantom, such thoughts often lead to the Dark side,' Ashla warned.

'I know, I know, but it's for the others' safety and freedom. Plus, who said that I was going to actually kill him?'

'So you weren't? Damn it!'

Danny choked on his laugh at the outburst; it was unnoticed, thankfully. He decided to leave these two guards alone. Phantom phased through the door and appeared in the black corridor. Despite everything, he had to admit that Yuths surely had a sense of style. Unlike certain KKK wannabes.

He saw a sign above one of the doors, which told him that they were barracks. They were empty, painted in black, but this time with the addition of dark orange. Apparently these were their main colors; Danny had seen them on many banners.

Phantom made an assumption that his disguise must be there, and he was correct. A spare piece of armor was inside one of the boxes. It had the same color scheme as the other ones: orange and black. Those guys were obviously obsessed with orange. Danny had a hard time putting it on; it was like trying to wear an extremely tight and bulky hazmat suit. At least his former costume wasn't that tight, just as much as needed for fighting. He put on the helmet and took one blaster from its stand to keep appearance.

Danny walked out of the barracks, trying to avoid the patrols. They might request identification. Now, when the question of disguise was solved, he needed to find information about local whereabouts, he couldn't just come and ask the soldiers. But maybe the slaves would be able to tell. But he needed to do it very carefully.

He found a bunch of them working over a starfighter.

"Hey, you!" Danny said loudly, a bit surprised at how his voice changed under the helmet.

The workers looked at him with fearful eyes. Danny pointed the blaster at one of them.

"You, follow me." The slave obeyed with a downcast look.

Danny gave him a slight shove, not so hard to hurt, but to show that he was serious. Phantom could sense the fear coming from his companion, but there was nothing he could do in public. He led the slave through the corridor and once Danny was sure that they were alone and no cameras were watching, he decided to speak.

"Sorry for the harsh attitude, I just can't risk my cover."

"What?"

Danny stopped and took off his helmet, showing his face.

"Look, we must be quick. I want information."

"You...you are Phantom!"

"Shh, quiet!" Danny snapped, before putting the helmet back. "I need to know about the new dreadnought here."

"The dreadnought? I heard about it, but it's not in this sector."

"Anything else?"

The slave shook his head. "No, you might want to go to the administrator, but he won't take you kindly."

"And he is..."

"In the central station."

"Alright, I'll move you back. And not a word about our conversation, for your own good."

Danny turned around, but was stopped by the young man.

"Wait!" he exclaimed. "Are...are you going to save us? That's what you do, right?"

Phantom sighed. "That wasn't originally a part of the plan...How many of you?"

"Only thirty six; The Yuths have replaced most of us with droids. Some rumors say that the other slaves were...disposed of..." he said fearfully.

Danny was disgusted. The Yuths were treating them like soulless machines that could be thrown out. Much worse, even the ancient Romans weren't that cruel. This galaxy was a horrible place to live, but he would change this; that's why he was here.

"I'll take you out of here, but for that I need the dreadnought. I'll contact you when needed and you will do what I say, are we clear?"

The slave nodded rapidly. "Yes...thank you, sir..."

"Thank me when we are done."

After leading the slave back to his post, Danny started to search for access to the central station. It was a circle inside the ring, with four ways leading to it—he saw that while being out in space. The entrance to this passage was guarded by multiple black battle droids with blasters in their hands. They were mostly humanoid, and had one big red sensor in the middle of their heads. Danny decided to call them 'cyclop-droids'. He hadn't had much time to think up a plan, since one of the droids noticed him and came closer.

"Show your identification, please," the droid asked.

'Well, damn. Droids cannot be tricked with the Force or possessed, if you aren't Technus.' Danny pretended to search for identification in his pockets.

"Oh, darn, where did I...follow me, I think I know where I forgot it."

And so he led the droid inside one shady room. The droid probably thought that its comrades could guard the entrance by themselves. The Yuths must have saved the money from their software. Well, Phantom wasn't going to complain. Danny shut the door using the Force, before shooting an ectoblast and destroying the machine.

'Wait, kid.' Bogan stopped Danny. 'The droid might be useful.'

'How?'

'Each of them must have an identification you may use,' Ashla explained.

'I know, but it's not like I'm a hacking master,' Danny deadpanned.

'You don't need to be. They make a hologram of the pass, and if you are lucky, it remained undamaged,' Bogan told.

Danny kneeled near the destroyed machine and phased off the piece of metal covering the insides of the droid's head. There Danny saw a small sphere which looked like what he needed. He phased it off too and took it into his hand. Danny then sent a tiny current of the Force, lighting in order to charge it.

He wasn't bothered by using the ability; as long as he was in control of himself, not the Dark side itself, he should be fine. It required a lot of self control and willpower, and the dissection he went through didn't weaken but strengthened his will. He never gave up on hope of escaping, much to the dislike of his captors, and on one fateful day he managed to break out of his restraints. Phantom thought about it a lot, and now, when he found out about the Force, he had an explanation. When the dissection finally killed him, the Force flowed inside of him as enormous wave, giving him a massive power boost.

A hologram turned on and an image of some card appeared. It was indeed an identification. Danny returned to the outpost and managed to pass through the patrol by using it. Thankfully the droids hadn't noticed that he wasn't using a normal holoprotector and let him pass.

Since the entire station was so big, it required transportation. In this case, a small train, twice the length of the school bus. It had two ends that looked exactly the same, since it obviously went in two directions. The train wasn't much different from futuristic ones back on Earth, besides the fact that it wasn't touching the rails. Danny stepped inside and set up the course. He fell on his butt because of the abrupt start, but managed to stand up.

It didn't take long to get to the central station. Unlike the rest of the shipyard/apparent military factory, it seemed more welcoming. Green bushes in white stands, a painted pathway under his feet, and no constant whirring and stirring of machinery. It was quiet and peaceful, besides the soldiers walking to and fro. But the sheer amount of white everywhere made him sick. Before he could hurl inside his helmet, he searched for the way out.

In far end of the big entrance hall he saw an elevator. Deciding that it would be better if he came inside unnoticed, Danny found a safe place and became invisible. How original. He flew up the elevator shaft and ended up in a very nice room. The room had a circular shape, with panoramic view on the space and the shipyard. No one was there.

Phantom found some kind of terminal and turned it on. Maybe he would be able to find some information there. Sadly, most of the files were classified and required a password. Once again Danny regretted his lack of hacking abilities. He started to look what was inside other files—simple shipment data, reports and other boring stuff. Nothing much.

Suddenly Danny heard the sound of elevator going up. His eyes widened and he started to rapidly close the documents he had opened. And just as he finished with the last one, Danny became invisible, before the elevator door opened and the man came out of it.

He was a yuth, obviously, a tall man about six feet. He was wearing an orange uniform, which looked odd with his skin color. He had some colored badges on it, which probably served the purpose of showing the military rank. And he had plenty of them. The man was aged, about fifty years old, with jet black hair and graying stripes. Besides him was a person who took Danny off guard. It was the same captain who 'captured' him. And he was still wearing his helmet.

"Scaball is a fool, captain Hex," The aged man said to his companion. "If he can't keep his slaves on the leash then he is weak. And if he is weak, it is our golden opportunity."

The man sat on the chair.

"Are you sure that is what you need, admiral?" The captain asked. "You have the entire space station in your disposal, why do you need some stinking planet?"

"I know what I want. This isn't a matter of power. Scaball killed my son and he is going to pay for this." The admiral hit the table with his fist.

"Are you sure it was him?"

"You are asking too many questions, Hex. As long as I pay you more than Scaball, it shouldn't bother you at all."

Danny raised an eyebrow. Was the yuthanean army a bunch of mercenaries? Why would they do something so unthoughtful? Maybe only Hex was a mercenary, but he still held a rank, so it mustn't be it.

"You are right, I don't care as long as I get my payment." Hex shrugged. "By the way, why did you call me all the way here?"

"To say that our attack is about to begin. The dreadnought is almost finished and you will command it."

"And the crew?"

"Droids, magnificent creations, much better than that alien scum. They will pilot it and obey your orders as programmed. Go there and get to know it better. Name the ship however you want."

The captain nodded and walked out of the room. The admiral sighed, before getting up and walking to the window.

Phantom meanwhile thought up a devious plan in his head. He would achieve much greater results.

"Impressive view, isn't it?" He asked, dropping his invisibility.

The admiral jumped in surprise and spun around. Danny was sitting cross legged on one of the armchairs with his helmet had been taken off.

"Phantom..." the admiral whispered in shock. He attempted to press the alarm button, but found himself unable to move. He saw that Phantom stood up with his hand outstretched towards him.

"Now, now, we don't need an extra audience." Danny smirked.

"What kind of sorcery is this!?"

"Take a seat, please."

Phantom swiped another hand and moved the chair right under the admiral's butt, before letting him go. The admiral fell on the chair.

"Are you going to kill me now?"

"If I wanted to kill you, you would be a chunk of ice floating in space by now." Danny shrugged. "I couldn't help but overhear your small conversation."

"How did you..."

"Please, even toddlers can become invisible among our kind. And I am considered the most powerful. Wasn't so hard to hide."

"What do you want then?"

"Ah, straight to business, I like it." Danny grinned. "So, what's your plan?"

"Like I will ever..."

"I can always extract it whether you want it or not. I recommend the second opportunity. I already suspect that you are planning to invade the planet, or bomb it. Most likely the first one, since even in a very decentralized state, such an act as orbital bombardment will be considered a treason. Am I right?"

The admiral was silent and just stared at him. Phantom's grin only widened.

"Are you going to talk now?"

"I planned to start bombardment."

Danny's eyes flashed with bright green inferno for a moment, but thankfully he wasn't looking at the admiral at the moment.

"You planned on turning an entire colony into the bare wasteland just because of your vendetta?"

He pushed the admiral back to the seat. Phantom heard how he tried to get to the button.

"I'm disappointed." Danny shook his head, before looking back at the old man. "I take it that you haven't considered all the details."

"I'm not going to listen to some alien brat," the admiral spat.

"It's not like you have a choice," Phantom said, amused. "I'm merely saying that your plan isn't perfect. I can help you with that."

"What?"

"Let me put it bluntly. If you attack, the entire empire will view you as a mass murderer. However, if Scaball will be shown as a weak and incompetent man, and you will arrive to wipe out the terrorists who have assumed power...you will be viewed as a hero and the planet shall be yours."

"And what do you gain from it?"

"You see, that's what are we going to do. You give me your remaining slaves, enough equipment, and I'll take care of Scaball. Then give us a ship and we will be off after putting a show."

The admiral laughed loudly. "Do you seriously believe that I'll trust some scum like you?"

"God, you are one stubborn donkey. Just think about it, this plan is much better, and no one will judge you."

"How do I know you will be able to overthrow him?"

"Simple, my men have me. I destroyed armies with a simple wail, why should this one be different?"

The admiral had to admit, Phantom sounded confident in his abilities. Yet again, he can become invisible and disappear momentarily. Who knows what else he can do?

"If you fail, I'll hunt you down personally, kid."

"Sounds fair, old man. So, it's a deal then?"

Danny reached out his hand, which flickered with green fire. The admiral looked at it warily. Phantom chuckled, before subduing the fire.

"Sorry, tradition from where I came from."

The admiral looked at it for a moment, but in the end he decided to shake it.


	7. Chapter VII: The parade at sunny day P1

The second Danny's duplicate dispersed many light years away, the original one received all the information. He had a week and a half to prepare his subordinates for the open conflict. Danny managed to transport the slaves from the shipyard without revealing his main trump card - teleportation. All this time he was continuing to train both the newcomers and the older ones, also learning about some races' abilities which could be useful.

After all recent additions, Phantom counted 101 men and women who were able to fight. At least Danny could say that he had more than hundred soldiers. There were also 26 old, young or weak people. Thankfully, the cave was very big and fit all of them. And the admiral, whose name Phantom hadn't bothered to ask, generously lent them enough food, water and weapons.

The grenades served different purposes; ion grenades disrupted electronics and vehicles, and thermal grenades were normal ones, just blowing up everything around themselves. Even light grenades, which blinded the opponents. Danny made his soldiers learn how to aim with grenades by throwing stones in the drawn target; they couldn't waste their weapons.

There was something else, though: blaster weaponry. Haseas told him about the effects of the weapons Danny took from pirates. From his tone, Phantom guessed that piercing through wasn't what the blasters are supposed to do. No one complained about it, but that was still unusual. Most probably, the technologies were different in two ends of the galaxy.

Danny studied the weapons made by yuths, and the technology was indeed different. For one thing, it hurt. He shouldn't have asked one of them to shoot him in the hand. It became motionless and numb for two hours. And it just had to be his writing hand. It shocked everyone that he healed at all, much less so fast. Phantom found the main difference was in the weapon structure; instead of using a battery like in pirates' ones, these blasters had ammo, namely a few capsules full of gas. The weapon sent small charges of electricity and the gas became harmful. The blaster shot with small amounts at the target. It was inert gas, since it didn't mix with the air the second it was released.

The most confusing part was how it was able to harm him. Danny had suspicions; ectoblasts and laser were a focused light, so they had a lot in common. The electrified gas was different, so the harm was understandable. But as long as his core wasn't severely damaged, Phantom would heal from any wound, even if his body was completely unable to move because of injuries.

But as the others trained, Danny was getting stronger, too. Force abilities were pretty simple to learn because of his enormous potential. One of the exercises was covering his eyes with a piece of clothing and trying to deflect the stones being thrown at him with a stick. He was getting better in this; the Force guided his every movement, but this ability was useless without the lightsaber. Phantom considered making one, but he had a feeling that it wasn't the time. Maybe when the rebellion succeeded he would venture to Ilum to find the cyber crystal, the main component of the lightsaber, as well as the other details.

Phantom also learned some Dark side powers. He even mastered the more advanced form of Force choking, which allowed him to puncture the inner organs of his victim by clenching his fist. Danny used it only on the predators who attacked their hideout. It was exactly when he learned that power. Danny decided to use it only in the direst situations. He wasn't a fan of torture, since he went through it once. He didn't like this, he didn't like when people feared him. He wanted only two people to scream at the mere sight of him.

Maybe he would use it against his former parents, who knew.

There were also his ghost powers. It was something Danny had to learn by himself. He trained on the planet's moon so he won't reveal where their hideout was. The wail was not working in vacuum, so it was pointless to try. Danny's main objective was to learn the powers Vlad and Dan had. If they could do that, then so could he. On his list were:

Teleportation without the portal; it could be really useful, even during a battle.

Increased power of his ectoblasts (Dan could obliterate tanks with a single shot).

Becoming a cloud of gas like his future self wasn't a priority for Danny at first. It couldn't help against blasters, so he deemed it useless. Then Phantom recalled that by using this ability Dan was able to go through the blasts from ectoweapons, which was thought to be impossible before. And since the ectoweapons and laser weapons were so much the same, Danny definitely needed to learn it.

He felt like a kid in candy store. So much to explore, so much to discover; he felt excitement each time he made a small success in training or research. Besides teleportation, he almost lost his thumb finger once. It was much harder than training with the Force. The maximum distance of his teleportation was five meters, and even then it felt like he was stopping the truck by himself.

Danny made more progress in turning his body into gas. At least one of his limbs at a time, which could be useful, too. What looked pathetic is how he made his leg an ectogas, as Phantom so originally called it, before stumbling on only remaining leg and floating out of the moon's surface because of weak gravity.

The funniest training was shooting practice. There was plenty of space junk floating around, and they made perfect targets for blasts. It was awesome and Danny had a lot of fun blowing up all the stuff like in the Fourth of July. It was hard to determine were the blasts becoming more powerful or not. They weren't made of steel or titanium, so he couldn't compare it to anything yet. But Danny managed to blow them in pieces, if that said something.

There was one interesting observation he made: the ectoblasts differed in power, with their colors showing their levels. Blue blasts were the weakest; the only one who used it was Box Ghost, well, at least the only one who Danny met. Green blasts were most common; no need to explain that it was a middle class. Vlad had pink colored ones - stronger than green, but not as much as the last ones. The only person who possessed red ectobeams was Pariah.

What Danny didn't get is why neither he nor Dan seemed to have red beams as well. Probably not enough practice, but Dan's blasts were just as powerful as Pariah's. It was just another riddle to solve.

No one knew where Phantom went, even Haseas, and many didn't like being left out. He just went somewhere without warning and appeared just as suddenly. They were completely unaware of their leader's doings and plans, except the times he sent someone on a mission, and tried to the people showed their displeasure whenever they could. Danny's decision to have a temporary alliance with the admiral caused an uproar and ignited a split of the group into two parts.

"You boys got to wake up," one of the disagreeing said dryly, making a gulp from a glass full of liquor.

They had alcohol and for many it was the only free time activity, when they weren't on missions or daily trainings.

"Phantom sold us out! I joined this organization to fight the empire, not work for them!" she continued.

"Everybody, simmer down," Haseas interrupted, "We trusted the commander before, we should trust him now."

"You are only saying this because he saved your son and put your second in command."

"You can't trust this kid." Thonor got up from his seat, shaking slightly, which spoke about high amount of alcohol in his body. "Phantom is nothin' but a spineless bantha."

"Oh, and what about you?" Haseas rolled his eyes. "You have been on only one mission, don't you think Daniel knows that you were useful only once and even then only because of your race's abilities. All you were doing besides that is poisoning yourself and causing a mess."

Haseas was brave enough to say it to the six foot five giant of a man, especially one who was drunk. Thonor had big physical strength, and he easily lifted Haseas by the edge of his clothes.

"The sooner you figure out the simple..."

"Enough of this."

The entire room fell silent as they all turned towards Phantom. They had almost two months to get used to him suddenly appearing out of nowhere, and yet they didn't. Thonor tossed Haseas to the side and looked at the leader.

"You got em all fooled don't ya, Danny? At the first sign of trouble you'll just deck and run. That's everything you can do, make holes to get out of danger."

That hit his sore spot dead on. Phantom kept a neutral face and didn't respond, but many came to realize that Thonor was doomed. But Thonor himself wasn't one of them.

"Don't you have anything to say? Usually you have a lot of promises, that's all you are good for...ANSWER NOW!"

"Maybe when you are sober," Danny responded nonchalantly.

Thonor's eyes blazed with fury, before he picked up the nearest big rock and threw it at Phantom with a roar. Danny rolled to the side before anyone could register what happened. Thonor then ran at him and tried to pin him to the wall, but Phantom sidestepped and Thonor hit the wall. He spun around and started to throw punch after punch, but it proved to be futile as Danny avoided each of them; Thonor was drunk and his punches were sloppy and ineffective. In the end Danny elbowed him hard in the stomach, then hit him in the knee using his leg, and when Thonor bent over in pain, he kicked him in the face, making him fall on the ground.

Danny looked up from the man and on Haseas, wiping the blue blood from the fist with his shirt. He previously hit Thonor in the nose and caused it to bleed.

Danny looked at the stunned crowd. No one had seen him in a real fight before, and while some were awed, others were terrified.

"You think he is telling the truth?" Danny asked them.

"Commander, you got us working for the empire now," the woman who started the whole conversation said, trying to help Haseas get up. "Making us to fight for some old man who wants to take over the planet and enslave us again."

"This isn't about the empire or the rebellion." Danny outstretched his hand, which Haseas took, and helped his second in command to get on the feet. "Our purpose was, is and always will be about saving lives. Had I not interfered, the admiral would have bombed an entire planet and killed thousands. I have a plan, I always have. You can follow me or go away; you know where the entrance is. The choice is yours, just like it's always been."

And with that Phantom turned away and turned over the beaten man.

Haseas had a smug grin on his face. "Now satisfied? Let's get back to work, guys!"

And while the others tried not to look at Phantom and walked out of the 'room', Danny looked straight into the giant's eyes and lowered his head.

"You are a lucky one, you know? The last ones who called me a freak ended up torn apart. Keep this in mind next time you decide to call me that," he whispered.

-Later-

"Everyone here?" Phantom asked.

They were inside one spacey place inside the cave, which could fit all hundred soldiers. It was perfect for briefing them all at the same time.

"Ninety four...ninety seven...yep, everyone is here," Haseas confirmed.

"Good, then we shall proceed. As you all know, our next step is incredibly daring. Apparently, her majesty decided to send her sorcerers." This earned surprised looks from the others. "That's right. Apparently, she started to lose faith in the governor. Taking those two down is my concern, don't worry about them. But Scaball may attempt to escape. Try to keep him alive; I have special plans for him."

"We need to secure our presence on the planet, but we are outnumbered and lack any vehicles. That's why we will borrow some from the army and take everyone by surprise. A small parade"—Danny coughed, before looking at the newspaper on his PDA—"'To show our people that they are safe, and that we will protect them from any terrorist threat', is going to transpire, and it will be very sad if not the imperial soldiers but us will be sitting inside. It will take the imperials by surprise when their machines turn against them."

"Eastern outpost is the least protected because most of the soldiers are in the city preparing for the show off. In order to keep the attack in secret, we'll need to jam the communications. Our only advantages are the element of surprise and numbers superiority."

At this word the hologram had turned on, showing the image of the military base.

"I got some information from our...involuntary ally, that there are about forty men inside the base. Don't let the number fool you; they are trained much better. And the com station is guarded heavily; one wrong movement in front of the cameras and everything is lost. Our ally will be able to turn them against the army, and he will communicate with you and guide you through the building."

"The first group must secure the communication station." The needed building glowed red. "But you must NOT destroy it. Any damage will be noticed. You need to take the operator hostage, so he will tell the center that everything is fine. With a blaster pointed at him."

"The next step is to eliminate the soldiers who are supposed to drive tanks and walkers. Again, we will use our advantage in numbers and attack from different sides. The barracks are located in this building, but from that post they will notice you too soon. Take care of them first; thankfully we have good snipers. Then approach the base, the ally will open the gates. Avoid destruction as much as possible, use only grenades I give you. After you are done, dispose of the bodies and put on their uniforms."

"You must accomplish all of this on your own. There will be no point in training if you don't have real practice. I can't always be there and use my powers to fix everything, no offense to any of you. Now. Any questions?"

Everyone raised a hand. Danny sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Any questions EXCEPT who this ally is?"

99 people dropped their hands. Danny let the one of the two remaining ask her question.

"How do we know that the cameras are turned off?"

"They will nod," Danny responded curtly. "But to be certain, they must give a sign at ten am. Wait for it. Next question, please."

"How can we drive the vehicles? It's not like we learnt how to do it."

"Driving tractor is much harder, believe me. All of you know the basic words on Yuthanean and how they are written. You don't need more; their machine's controls are very intuitive, I give them that. Don't worry about shooting at each other. The squad you must replace has black colored vehicles. Each squad has own color scheme. Shoot at any tank which isn't black and DO NOT leave the main square, otherwise you will be caught in a trap of mine. You are dismissed."

-Later-

Danny wasn't going to just stand and wait until the others do their tasks. He would observe and watch over so they won't fail, assist them, but not much. Phantom had a similar job, only bigger. If the entire country learned about the attack, then they would have an entire armada above their heads. If Danny cut off the primary communications, reinforcements won't come and they should succeed. Just a normal day of his afterlife.

But it was his duplicate's job. Phantom preferred something more interesting. He knew that overconfidence was the biggest step towards failure; it was something what helped him win against most of his enemies, even the ones who were stronger than him. And such, he needed more support and firepower. It was obvious that the slaves and even a good amount of middle and low class citizens were ready to join the cause, they just needed a small push in the right direction.

The rebellion needed them. Its members might be trained a little, but they were only slaves weakened by years of servitude. Danny spent the whole week and a half carefully approaching and talking to people who seemed like a good addition. Slave owners obviously had to be avoided. Phantom actually spent most of the time observing the populace. Using all the psychology knowledge his sister had forced inside his mind, Danny created his agenda that even the rest of rebellion didn't know about.

It may sound like Phantom didn't trust them, and partially it was the truth. He didn't want an information leak during tortures. On the missions his men either died or managed to return, but that didn't mean that Danny was going to let his guard down. He also assigned some of his men inside the city, so they could give fire support from the roof.

The day before, during the night, Phantom walked around the city, preparing special traps in case reinforcements arrived. They would be greeted with a nice show. He had developed special mines, which could be triggered only by antigravity tanks. The mines sent electrical current, enough to knock the soldiers unconscious without killing them; who knew, maybe some of them might want to join them. The mines were also disabled weaponry, including the tanks themselves. The current was targeting only durasteel, used only in yuthanean army, which means that civilians wouldn't be harmed. With the addition of a small amount of ectoplasm taken from his body, Danny could make them invisible with a little to no energy usage.

He just needed to make sure his men wouldn't step into this trap.

Meanwhile the rebels put his plan into action. Just as Danny said, at 10:00 the cameras moved up and down, signaling that the path was clear. They proceeded inside, after splitting in two groups, following their leader's command.

The first group managed to get inside pretty easily. They found the required building, and while two men stood on watch, the others went inside. Outnumbering the soldiers inside (it was twenty against five), they easily secured the place and took them hostage. One attempted to press the alarm button despite the threat, but was taken care of with a shot from a gun. The soldiers got the warning and did as was told.

Haseas looked at the building through electrobinoculars and received a sign that everything was clear. He raised his hand and clenched the fist, and immediately the snipers shot the guards on watchtowers. Nice and smooth. Haseas gestured to his subordinates that it was time to charge. Three groups approached the base, and once they were near the gates, they opened, letting them go through.

Six soldiers were in patrol near the main entrance and immediately noticed the trespassers. They hid behind covers and started to shoot from there, taking the lives of four men immediately. Being on the bare ground, the rebels were at a disadvantage and were at loss at first, but supporting fire from the window of communication station helped them out. Now, when the soldiers were under fire from two sides, they had a hard time.

One remaining soldier managed to hide behind a crate and turned on the communicator.

"Alert, the rebels are ambushing us! Repeat, the..."

He didn't have time to finish before being blasted. Communications were jammed, so everything the others could hear was a rustling of interference. But that was suspicious enough, so they needed to be prepared for standing against a strong defense. Suddenly, Haseas heard his com turning on.

"Alright, Haseas, was it? The soldiers seemed to notice your presence. Some of them are in their common 'bedroom'," an unknown voice sounded through it. Haseas guessed it was their mysterious ally. "They are getting armed. There are two corridors to that room. Take positions in side rooms and hide there. When they are locked between you, throw grenades and shoot the rest. Same order for the second corridor, inform the third group, they are walking through it right now. The fourth group must stand still, there are too many of them inside the cafeteria. Wait until someone comes out."

Haseas turned off the communicator and then informed the others. A group of soldiers ran out of the room in the end of the corridor, about nine of them. Once they were in position, where they were locked from forward and behind, one of the rebels threw a grenade from behind. The soldiers heard the sound of the grenade hitting the floor. They turned back and started to shoot, retreating back.

But this action caused them to turn their backs towards the rest of the rebels. Haseas and the others started to shoot at them, locking them in a tight grip, before the grenade detonated and blew the soldiers up. Electrocuted them, to be exact. Danny gave them grenades which could kill; no need for loyal imperials to wake up when unneeded. Phantom warned his subordinates not to wear durasteel. And looking at how the electricity jumped from one soldier to another, but didn't touch them, the rebels understood why.

They were originally designed by his 'parents', against ghosts, of course. And since Danny always tried to learn as much as possible about the weapons which could harm him, it wasn't so hard for Phantom to reverse engineer them and alter a bit.

"Phantom is a damn genius," one of them whispered in a mix of awe and horror.

"Won't argue on that," Haseas agreed. "Thankfully this evil genius is not against us," he added sarcastically, before putting a hand on the com in his ear. "Second squad, what's the situation?"

"Not good, sir..." Loud blasting sounded through the com. "They figured our plan out! They are trying to ambush us!"

"Use grenades!" Haseas ordered. "They kill soldiers in armor!"

"They aren't wearing any."

"Ah, damn it, hold your position, we are coming!" Haseas turned off the com.

The squad consisting twenty men ran for it, right through the clean and comfortable looking barracks. They could see how the soldiers tried to hold the hallway, and immediately attacked. Unprepared for an attack from behind, they retreated behind the covers; namely they threw over the furniture and hid behind them, after losing some men. Suddenly Haseas' com beeped again.

"What?" Haseas shouted into com.

"Order the fourth group to attack, otherwise you will be dead," the ally said calmly. "They heard everything and are coming here."

"You said there were too many of them!"

"Yes," a blast rang through the com. "Now there is a lesser crowd. Order them to attack from the eastern corridor. The soldiers will be pressed outside and shot down by the snipers."

"Roger that."

Haseas then communicated with the fourth group and retold the order, which the squad accepted and hurried to accomplish it. The group attacked, and since the corridor was empty, in order to save their lives the soldiers started to retreat back, right on the street. Immediately they were killed by the snipers' narrow shots.

Another two groups meanwhile finished the rest of the soldiers. And as the last one was down, Haseas turned on the communicator again.

"Is everything clear?"

"Almost."

Everyone turned to direction of the sound. It wasn't coming from the communicator. The rebels pointed their guns at one lonely yuthanean soldier who raised his hands almost mockingly. He took off his helmet. It was a twenty years old young man with literally red hair and brown eyes. He was smirking slightly.

"Honestly, when I heard that the kid is going to attack I thought he was joking."

"Who are you?" Haseas raised his eyebrow.

"Rufus Pax, first squadron, 201st legion."

"Are you one of commandos?"

"So you heard about us," he muttered with a small amused smile, before being punched in the face by Haseas. "UGH, what was that for?!" Rufus exclaimed.

"Your squadron killed my wife, you asshole!" Haseas grabbed the younger man by the edge of clothing in the armor. "How do I know it wasn't you?"

"If you hadn't noticed, old man, I'm on your side right now," Pax deadpanned, making Haseas want to punch him again even more. "I deflected for the same reason you want to turn me in a bloody pulp. I don't support what the empire does, either. And I don't kill women, so to say, unless, of course you mean that it wasn't actually 'wife'..."

Haseas punched him again, before letting go Rufus grudgingly. "I am watching you, punk."

"No doubt about that," Rufus muttered. "Alright, how many of yours died?"

"Ten on our side."

"Eleven."

"Four."

"So, a quarter of the entire rebellion is dead," Pax said sarcastically, before sighing. "I hope Phantom is as strong as he says. We need to hide the bodies. There is a trash dispenser, throw them there."

"Hey, what makes you think you can give us orders?"

"Oh, let's hear YOU out then," Pax crossed his hands in challenge, throwing daggers at Haseas.

"What about our friends' bodies?" Someone asked.

"Dunno, throw them there, too?" Pax shrugged, earning multiple glares.

"Oh, no, they will be buried as they should!" Haseas exclaimed.

"What do YOU offer then?"

"Leave them here for now. And say that they were the only rebels to attack."

"There is not enough. Only twenty against forty? Too stupid and reckless."

"Then we will say that the others retreated," Haseas smirked, clearly proud of his idea.

Pax shrugged. "That might work."

"Then let's get going."


	8. Chapter VIII: Parade at sunny day Pt2

Phantom gazed down on the city below him. When you are busy with such an activity, a lot of philosophical thoughts tend to come to mind. There was nothing out of place in this situation. He leaned against the metal bars, which served the purpose of preventing falls from the roof of the seven-story building. Passersby may have noticed the silhouette up there, but the dark robes didn't let anyone see his face. Danny saw the soldiers passing through the streets.

Their actions disgusted him. For example, they confiscated trade goods simply because the government changed how the special papers were signed, and obviously failed to inform the citizens. The traders were unscathed as long as they obeyed and silently watched how their today dinner has been taken away. It pained Danny to the depths of his icy core, which despite its name was warmer than the hearts of the soldiers in black and orange.

He couldn't help them. He would reveal himself too soon. His obsession was literally trying to push him down the roof. Such things never were a good sign for a ghost. If he was ignoring his obsession, it meant that he was going against the only thing keeping him alive, or undead for that matter. Well, that was the price for being immortal. He heard what happened with the ones who went against it. They simply faded into oblivion after a while. But Danny wasn't defying it; he was simply trying to ignore it until he fulfilled it.

Soon he would make this bloodthirsty regime pay for everything they had done. Phantom caught a glimpse of movement inside the building on the other side of the road. He knew it was one of his men. The owner of the apartment generously offered them to take position in there, even if he knew that any tank or walker could turn his home into dust. That selfless act was very inspiring and it was only one of many. It made Danny believe that everything might work out.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, Phantom's communicator went off.

"Commander, we have done what you said. We are ready to go," Haseas said.

"I hope it went without any trouble," Danny responded.

"Well, despite this bratty commando, everything is fine."

Phantom sighed, rubbing his temples.

'How could I forget about that?' he asked no one in particular.

"Look, Haseas, I understand everything. Worry not; betraying us is the last thing he wants. I happened to stumble upon some dirty blackmail against him."

"What is it?"

"Get to the point," Danny said seriously, fully understanding why the older man needed this information.

"We have just passed the inspection. They hadn't suspected a thing, but there were a few close calls. The inspectors gave us the route we must go..." Haseas obviously was looking down at the PDA. "We need to move at 11:00 and enter the city from the eastern road."

"Do you know the exact schedule of arrivals?"

"No, boss."

"Hmm...Fine, take your free time to get accustomed to the machines. There must be no flaws, am I clear?"

"Crystal. Signing off."

Danny turned off the communicator, his lips forming a thin line. Everything seemed to be going fine so far, but Phantom knew his luck too well. Call him paranoid, but the fate, or the Force, always played dirty with him. Being cautious saved him many times before. And one time he let his guard down, he ended up being caught, dissected and killed. But he wouldn't repeat the same mistake ever again. Danny looked at the PDA and remotely turned off the mines on the eastern road.

Phantom then went down to the streets, carefully avoiding the police and occasional soldiers. He couldn't help but grin once he saw his holoprojection with a single word 'Wanted' under it. Fear had very big eyes; it was both advantageous and disadvantageous for the ghost teen. It made the rebellion look like a bigger threat to the government than it actually was. It could inspire people to join their cause, but on the other hand, the empire may start building up more than the rebels could handle.

Danny's plan was simple. While his subordinates would destroy anyone who approached the square, he would get captives. Phantom knew that his men, despite the large support from the populace, may not be able to hold off the entire army.

The parade had started a short while ago. Danny was very disappointed that he was not able to hear the governor's speech. It would have been rather amusing scene to watch. And while the soldiers marched through the square, Phantom invisibly flew to the back entrance of the governor's residence. He needed to go through it and get to the governor himself. Putting up a show was the second, but not a secondary mission. So, the more people see the whole ordeal, the better.

Phantom decided to let his brain relax, so he just straightforwardly walked to the guarded entrance.

"Hey, where do you think you are going?" One of the guards pointed a gun towards the ghost teen. His six comrades did the same thing.

"I'm going inside." He raised his hand and lifted the soldiers in the air using the Force grip, yet another form of Force choking. "And you are not going to stop me."

Phantom gave the guards a fanged grin, before knocking them out with a simple hard push towards the wall. He went to the doors, waved his hand and they slid open before him.

"From now on, I'm opening doors only like that." Danny chuckled.

He then proceeded through the tall halls of the building. He wasn't in the mood for any unneeded murders, so every soldier on his way could be considered lucky; they simply ended up being unconscious, either because of a weak enough ectoblast or a strong hit in the head. Sometime later, Danny started to get suspicious. Something felt wrong; he wasn't exactly quiet, not to mention that the guards didn't call for reinforcements. Yes, he took care of them swiftly, but still. He needed to be careful.

Finally Phantom entered the big hall, and on the opposite end he saw the governor, who was standing with his back turned to him. Danny created an icy dagger in his hand and quietly approached the man. Then he suddenly put the dagger against the man's throat.

"Hello there." Danny grinned.

The crowd on the streets noticed the action and it caused a strong reaction. Multiple gasps sounded across the square for different reasons: Horror, happiness or simple surprise. Everyone's eyes turned away from the parade and up to the tribune. Well, the parade wasn't much entertaining anymore. The military was gone already, and the vehicles have yet to arrive. Danny glanced down and saw that his men were approaching. He needed to buy time so they could get to the middle of the square; it would be the best position.

"Foolish brat," Scaball spat. "If you think that you can take me down on your own, then you are stupider than I thought."

"Aw...you had such a high opinion of me from the beginning, I'm flattered. And your words are quite brave for someone who has a dagger under his chin."

"Yes, I have, but they don't."

Suddenly Danny felt a surge of the Dark side energy to the right. He jumped back right in time to avoid the lighting strike directed at him.

"Idiots! You almost blasted me!" Scaball shouted.

"Yes, almost," a female voice responded.

Danny looked where the voice came from. There were two people, an enormous giant about eight feet, and much smaller woman beside him. They both were wearing black and red robes, with black gloves and boots. Their faces were hidden behind spiky masks, which looked like they were made from bones and had red marks where the mouth should be. This look must have caused terror and fear, but Phantom only chuckled, getting up on his feet.

"So...You are the sorcerers," he said with a contemplating look on his face. "I expected something more."

"Silence, worm!" The woman spat. "No one gave you the right to speak!"

"Such arrogance, such pride." Danny chuckled. "This is what gives you the power, the power you are so willing to use..."

The giant lunged at the ghost teen and swung his huge fist. Instead of hitting Phantom, however, he hit the marble floor, leaving a network of cracks on it. Danny hummed from his new position five meters away.

"You use the Dark side to increase your physical strength...interesting."

Phantom's research about the Dark side wasn't that much. While Ashla was happy to teach him the Light side, Bogan was much less eager than her. It was like that for numerous reasons. He taught Danny the minimum, just enough to not get him killed. The rest of the information must be learned by himself. As Bogan put it: "The Dark side never just waltzes in your hands. You must prove yourself worthy."

Danny had suspicions about the real reason behind that. Bogan wanted to awaken the lust for power kept deep inside Phantom's core. While using the Dark side, Danny never used its full extent; he was way too careful. The being obviously didn't like it, and knowing Bogan's nature, it was probably the truth. Either that, or he was just being an ass. But there was nothing Danny planned to do with that at the moment, simply because he had his hands full that time.

Phantom's musings were rudely interrupted by the 'sorceress'.

"What are you talking about?" she asked.

"I remember you ordered me to be silent," Danny smirked teasingly.

Phantom saw that Scaball attempted to flee the scene, but he reacted just in time and shot with ectobinds at his legs. The governor fell on the floor with a loud sound. He obviously was wearing something under that robes of his. There must be a lot of accessories.

The sorceress growled at his ignorance, just like her companion, before activating the crimson lightsaber. At this point Danny was actually surprised.

"Where...where did you get this?" he asked with wide eyes.

He could understand the usage of the Force outside of two orders, it wasn't that unheard of. How to make a lightsaber from scratch, on the other hand, was something you didn't learn from the Force user manual.

"Oh, someone is scared?" the sorceress asked mockingly.

"No, just wondering about the weapon which will soon become mine."

Danny really wanted his own lightsaber. It was much more effective than his weapons, be it ice or an ectoenergy sword. First of all, it weighed no more than a simple dagger. It also gave the advantage of mobility with the lack of inertia. Second, the lightsaber could cut through almost everything. The cyber crystal could be found in certain places, but Danny lacked the materials required for the hilt itself. And they just came to him right now.

Two sorcerers attacked Phantom. Rolling away from the first strike, Danny created an ectosword and blocked the lighsaber. It may not have hadthe destructive effects of this weapon, but it still possessed most of the lightsaber's protective qualities. That was something what surprised the sorceress, Danny felt as much.

"How is that possible?" she muttered.

"Tut-tut, you don't answer my questions, I don't answer yours." Phantom grinned, before pushing her back.

Suddenly he took out a flare gun and fired out of the window. Before anyone could comment or ask for the reason of that action, loud booming sounds filled the city. Scaball managed to look out of the window, and what he saw shocked him.

The tanks opened fire at the column in front of them. Straight hits in the weakest part of every tank - its back - destroyed them instantly. The walkers - weird shaped cubes with laser guns on two legs - started firing at the approaching imperial column behind. The crowd was fleeing in terror from the battle, and the rebels inside the vehicles tried to avoid civil casualties. They split into different parts, moving towards the roads leading to the square. Walkers stood behind buildings, because their bulky design made them the easiest targets. The destroyed vehicles blocked two ways for a while, and that could be used as a temporary advantage.

Danny started swinging his blade and the sorceress was pushed into defensive.

"Hodor, get rid of them!" she ordered the giant.

He nodded and jumped through the window, breaking it in the process. This earned a groan from the tied governor.

"The door was two meters away!" he shouted in dismay.

Danny couldn't allow the sorcerers to aid the imperials. In series of swings and slashes, Phantom started to quickly retreat, giving his opponent a false sense of security. Partially it was the truth, however. The sorceress was attacking very fast, using all the fury she had inside; she truly was a Dark side user. Her lightsaber style was as gracious as dangerous. Danny had some skill in sword combat, but his weapon was too slow compared to hers. He compensated his lack of speed with his connection to the Force. It guided his hands and allowed to block the hits just in time.

The sorceress pushed him forward, and that was exactly what Phantom needed. He quietly landed on his legs, on the metal pavement of the street. Danny looked around, and much to his dislike, the giant of a man was trying to break the tank with his bare hands, and so far he was successful. Narrowing his eyes, Phantom decided to use the new trick he created. If he channeled some ectoenergy in his Force lighting, it would become more destructive. He raised his free hand and the green electricity hit the giant dead on. A roar of pain mixed with the loud cackling of the lighting and booming explosions of the transpiring battle.

Phantom pushed the man into the wall, without stopping to shock him. He let go of him just in time to block the strike of lightsaber. He glanced at the sorceress with a playful look.

"Shall we continue?"

Her response was a continuous wave of unstopping slashes.

Haseas opened a trapdoor on the roof of the walker. He couldn't see a thing from the inside; whoever designed this vehicle had hands growing from his ass. Haseas looked around and noticed that the defense of the Northern road was seriously crippled by that dumb creature. He would hold the soldiers back; the mines had to remain the last resort. Haseas slid back inside the vehicle's cockpit.

"Move the walker to the Northern road," he ordered the rebel driving the machine. He obeyed the order, despite thinking that it was downright suicidal.

With loud whirring sounds, the walker clumsily moved forward. Once they got to the road, Haseas opened fire from his seat, without giving the imperials any time to react properly. He shot at the tanks first, since only they could destroy the walker. Or a strong rope tied around its legs. But they didn't have any ropes, so the threat was dismissed instantly. Haseas kept firing at the soldiers, who weren't lucky or smart enough to hide in the sideways.

In a few minutes the entire road was reduced to smoking rubble. Haseas MIGHT have gone a little overboard with it. Despite that, some reckless soldiers attempted to blast two rebels through that same slit hole. A foolish attempt, but the soldiers were unreachable, no matter how hard the mid aged man tried to get them.

Suddenly one of the imperials emerged from behind destroyed tank, with a rocket launcher in his hands. Before anyone could react, the soldier's head was pierced with a single blue shot.

"Snipers are doing their jobs quite well," Haseas commented with a small grin.

"Yeah, but I doubt they will save us from this thing," the rebel said, showing him the sensor screen.

According to them, something flying was approaching on rapid speed. And judging from its size of twenty meters long, it could be only one thing.

"A jet fighter is approaching!" the rebel shouted in the communicator.

Phantom was getting bored. The sorceress' movements became very predictable once he learned her style. He didn't need to rely on the Force to fight anymore. Danny decided to finish her already, but something stopped him. A rain of green laser bolts heading towards him. Phantom rolled to the side and saw the scorch marks where he once stood. Danny looked up and saw a fighter flying above them in circles, raining fire at the rebels and specifically him. It was the same fighter which brought him in that city for the first time.

Phantom turned on his communicator, putting up a shield around himself.

"Pax, your carriage has arrived," he said.

"I see it. I can't get to the fighter if it keeps moving!" Rufus responded, blasting approaching soldier.

After fooling the inspectors, Rufus used a speeder to get to the city first and get to the required position. When the battle began, he started moving from one building to another, protecting the snipers from the upcoming imperials. His very own jetpack helped him out a lot. Each Yuthanean commando had one. That's why Danny required his help to take out the jet fighter. Phantom could fly on his own, but he was too occupied at the moment.

Danny got the idea.

"I'll hold it! Prepare on three...two...one...go!"

Phantom removed his sword and used both hands to grip the fighter in midair. He grunted slightly at the resistance; the pilot tried to get out of the grip by turning on the thrusters to their maximum.

Rufus saw that action and jumped off the roof, turning on the jetpack in the process. The soldiers noticed the traitor and start firing. But Pax was trained in every type of combat he could engage in. It wasn't very hard for him to avoid the enemy fire and land on the fighter. The pilot inside noticed him, so he switched towards turret control. The turret emerged from the wing and started firing. Rufus started shooting at the defense system, getting an unusual cover under the wing. Pax turned on his special wrist tool to open the pilot's cabin from the outside, while hiding from the turret fire.

Danny started to sweat. He was exhausting his mind trying to hold the fighter on one place. To make matters worse, two sorcerers tried to break through the green ectoshield, and that made Danny exhaust his core. Lightning currents, lightsaber hits, and fist strikes started to crack the barrier.

'Why is it so hard?!' he mentally complained.

'Well, using ghost powers and the Force was a bad idea, apparently,' Bogan commented. 'Interesting, in small amounts they empower, but in big amounts they interfere with each other...'

At that moment the shield broke. Not being able to hold the jet fighter during the fight, Danny was forced to let go and create the sword again. He blocked the lightsaber and engaged in combat two against one.

Kept in place no more, the jet fighter flew on the full speed, and Pax almost fell off the vehicle, but managed to grab it tightly. The pilot returned to his position and tried to shake him off. Rufus' armor had a lot of tools in it, including special grappling hook. He continued to pry open the cabin. Even if he needed some time to get in it, the air support became too occupied anyways.

Phantom was getting sick of this fight; his men were dying while he was wasting his time.

This thought earned a pang in his core. It was a signal for him to do something. Feeling the strength returning to him, Danny swung his wickedly glowing sword with a loud roar. The sorceress wasn't able to withstand the power of the blow. She stumbled back, and Danny's Force pushed her further and into the destroyed tank. Her weapon was dropped on the ground.

Phantom dispersed the sword and punched the giant with all his ghostly physical strength. He had to give it to that bastard, his skull was hard. Hodor fixed his jaw, glaring at the ghost teen. Phantom glared back at the giant with neon green eyes, which radiated a bright glow even on this sunny day. Hodor unwillingly felt terror flowing through him. He tried to resist, completely understanding that the terror was artificial, if the dark aura surrounding his enemy said something.

Phantom started slowly approaching the giant. His fists flashed with deadly green fire and kept becoming more intensive and darker. Danny started throwing blasts at him without any mercy, not paying any attention to the yells of pain. With each hit, with each scorch mark he left on his opponents' skin, burning through the robes, the shade of ectoblast changed more and more. Finally he got to the exhausted opponent, and much to his shock, Phantom lifted him up with only one hand.

"G-get lost, d-demon!" He shouted, but the white haired teen only tilted his head.

"Demon? Meet you in hell, then."

Phantom raised his hand, and the dropped lightsaber flew into it in a blink. He slashed the saber across the belly and everything Hodor did was gasp. Phantom let go of the body, or at least what remained from it, before turning off the lightsaber. He shook his head, before letting out a groan.

"I guess I went a little overboard with it," he muttered.

'You kidding?! It was bloody marvelous!' Bogan shouted in joy.

"I don't have time for this," Danny all but snapped.

Then his eyes fell on the free hand, which continued to glow. What was unusual, however, is that it glowed red. Phantom's eyes widened in shock and awe.

"I did it!" He exclaimed.

'Yes, you did, young one. But your people are still in danger. Use the newfound power wisely,' Ashla advised, and much to her relief, Danny nodded.

"You are right," he said, before looking at his new trophy.

The lightsaber had a curvy hilt and was about ten inches long. It was made of two metals, one of which was pitch black and felt like gloss on touch, while the second metal looked like silver or platinum. Together they formed a peculiar pattern, which circled around the small red button in the center, which switched the lightsaber on and off. The hilt ended with sharp black spikes, which surrounded the erupting blade. The weapon was light, but Danny long since got an idea how to make it even lighter.

Phantom turned on the communicator.

"Haseas, Pax, the sorcerers are dealt with, what about you?" He asked.

"We are holding them back, boss," Haseas commented. "But the mines are already used. The air support will be appreciated."

Danny saw how the pilot of the jet fighter took a flight down. Rufus jumped inside the vehicle and took control. Immediately he flew towards enemies' positions and opened fire, effectively destroying the reinforcements.

"I don't hear thank you!" Rufus shouted excitedly. "I'll deal with the rest of the aviation!"

"Thank you," Haseas deadpanned. "Any plans for what to do next?"

"I have an idea," Danny responded, before turning towards the governor's home. "Holocoms are set, I hope?"

"Yes, boss, you think it's time?"

"Yep."

Phantom jumped back to the balcony from which he was dropped half an hour ago. He entered the hall and saw that Scaball was attempting to cut down the restraints with the sharp weapon of the standing armored dummy. Scaball turned towards the stark haired teen, once he heard an unmistakable sound of the lightsaber turning on. His eyes widened once he noticed who was holding it.

"You came here to finish what you've started, don't you?" he asked.

"In some way, yes," Phantom shrugged, before pointing his weapon towards the governor's throat. "Order your soldiers to stand down and surrender."

Scaball chuckled grimly. "I knew there was something about you when I first saw you. Somehow I got a feeling that you will be the one to do this."

"The ways of the Force are unpredictable," Danny commented.

"Why are you doing this? With this kind of power you can do much more than just leading a small bunch of alien scum."

Phantom smirked, showing his sharp right canine. "Who said that it is going to end with this bunch of people who desire freedom? I'm doing all of this because of multiple reasons: because I can, because I want to. I saw too much xenophobia to simply tolerate it. I'll free all the humiliated, all the ones who were reduced to the status of items. And then, after this empire falls, step by step, the entire galaxy will unite under my rule. Now, returning to what is going on, will you speak or not?"

"I...Only if you don't kill me."

"Deal."

Phantom turned off the lightsaber, took out a holocom and put it on the ground before the governor. He then pushed the man on his knees and turned the holocom on.

The giant holograms turned on all across the city, and everyone was stunned by seeing the governor look so defeated, bind up at legs and hands. Looking up, Scaball spoke.

"My loyal soldiers, you have resisted enough. But we lost, we are beaten, to avoid any more deaths among your ranks, I order you to drop your weapons and surrender to the...Valor'rum's new ruler."

The last part shocked everyone. And judging from how Scaball longed the last part of the sentence, he wasn't doing it willingly. Of course, what ruler will be willing to give the power to some random guy? Suddenly the communicators blinked a few times, before showing Phantom himself.

"Dear citizens of the World of Valor'rum. My name is unknown to you, so I'll give it. I am Daniel James Phantom, the leader of the Rebellion. For too long you have suffered under the rule of the arrogant and snobbish rich bags that treated you no better than droids or animals. But I'll say this, we had ENOUGH! No slaver empire deserves to live, and this is not an exception. If the high circles don't start any changes, we will. There are about three hundred billions of slaves against fifty billions of Yuths. And they even started enslaving their own kind. This bloodthirsty empire must pay for its crimes! And we will be its judges, prosecutors, and executioners! Join the Rebellion now, and together we will bring freedom to this country!"

And on this point the communication ended, leaving the citizens to their thoughts.


	9. Chapter IX: A new toy

A.N. Danny is speaking with every specie on its native language. When he is speaking English, the words will be written like _this._

It was going much better than Phantom anticipated. Not that he was going to complain about it. On the contrary, he personally welcomed everyone who was willing to join his cause. However, Danny wasn't happy with the reasons some of them joined. They feared him. His display of power and ruthlessness was terrifying, so they joined only to be sure Phantom didn't snap their necks or cut them down with his lightsaber. Danny tried to sound polite and gentle to everyone in order to calm his new subordinates. He continued to assure them that no harm will come to any civilian or surrendering soldier. Phantom also publicly warned that every soldier who continued fighting would be eliminated.

The threat didn't work so well. Many soldiers continued resisting, the fights kept going. The biggest group took stronghold in the building of the capital administration and refused to surrender. Phantom personally took part in eliminating the last remaining loyalists. After leading his troops through the first line of defense—snipers and shooters in the windows—Danny managed to break inside the building. The rogue soldiers were taken by surprise when he started deflecting their blasts back at them. And the last thing you might wish was to be trapped inside a narrow corridor while fighting against a lightsaber combatant, even if an amateur one.

And now they were brought to their knees, both literally and figuratively. Danny looked down on their downcast faces, humming under his nose, as the soldiers grimly awaited their execution.

"You have killed plenty of my men," Phantom commented, twirling the lightsaber in his hand for intimidation. "If it was someone other than me, you would have shared the fate of your comrades," he gestured towards motionless bodies lying nearby. "But...I'm a strong believer in second chances. My offer still remains; since you are the officers, you either tell us what you know or die. Simple enough, isn't it?"

"We will never tell you anything, scum!" One of them spat.

"Boldly spoken."

The soldier started to choke; he tried to breath, but something was gripping his neck too tight. He fell on the ground. Phantom didn't even need to raise his hand to do this trick. Once the soldier's skin started to get a blue shade, he released the man. The soldier panted deeply, gasping for every bit of air he could breathe in. The others stared in horror at the brutal display of power. Danny sat on his knee near him, and Phantom's deadly green eyes bored into the man's.

"I'll give you time to reconsider your decision. Move them to their cells, I'm done here for now."

His subordinates nodded and led the survivors out of the room, leaving the ghost teen alone in the half destroyed hall. Danny hummed, getting on his feet. Now he understood the populace's fear. Yes, they had better fear than hate him, but he needed to show them that he was not a cruel power hungry monster. But he needed the imperial codes, whatever it took to get it. Phantom closed his eyes in contemplation, before feeling that he wasn't alone.

"Rufus, is there anything you want to talk about?"

He sensed a wave of surprise coming from the commando.

"How did you know it was me?"

Danny chuckled. "I sensed your emotions. Who else could come to me with a feeling of annoyance and the high expectations?"

Pax clapped his hands sarcastically. "Yeah, yeah, then you probably know what exactly I want."

Phantom dug in his pockets, before taking out a shining data card and handing it to the slightly older man. Rufus took the card and smashed it with his hand.

"From now, on your reputation is as clean as a toddler's tear." Danny smirked without looking back. "What are you going to do now?"

"Don't know." Rufus shrugged. "Don't want to serve in the army again. No one saw my face so no one will suspect me, but simply suppressing revolts is boring. I want to fight with the Chiss again. They are the real fighters."

Danny turned around to face the former soldier. "And what about your own army?"

"Oh, I get it. You want to convince me to join your rebellion."

"Indeed. After our marvelous victory, we have about ten thousand men and women in our ranks. Of course, not enough for an open fight, but it is still something. Her Majesty is unaware that the planet is out of her control, I made sure of it. Well, it is going to last for a month, until the tax collector arrives. By that time I plan to build up strong enough defense."

"You are freaking insane." Rufus shook his head. "Yes, after we lost the last war with the Ascendancy the Imperial Navy is strictly limited, but there is still more than enough ships to wipe out the entire planet!"

"I'm as much insane as required. Because the sane person like you would have never attempted to go against the stellar empire alone. Now look around, we won, and our numbers grew by a hundred times. This is the first step and only one of many. I have a further plan of action, and I'm sure it is going to work."

"I think the sorcerers hit you pretty hard," Rufus muttered. "What are you planning?"

"I'm not obliged to tell it to the one who is not the part of The Rebellion." Danny smirked, putting his hands behind his back. "What did YOU think I was planning?"

"Get the ship to get out of this planet and as far from the empire as possible."

Phantom laughed. "Surprisingly, you are very close. The admiral's lapdog will arrive here in a few days. He needed to put some new toys on his ship, plus he saved money by installing a cheap and slow hyperdrive. By that time, we will be ready to capture his dreadnought. Then we will destroy the hyperspace beacon so no one will be able to get here."

"And what are you going to do then? Declare independence?"

"Sounds tempting, but it's too early for that..."

A sudden beeping noise interrupted their conversation. Danny took out a holocom and turned it on. The Rebellion female soldier showed up.

Phantom created his own small design change to the standardized rebel's armor. They all were wearing the imperial armor, but painted in black and white, instead of white and orange. However, not every set of armor was repainted, and since the friendly fire had to be avoided, not everyone was wearing them.

"Sir." the rebel nodded. Danny nodded in response.

"What is it, ensign?" he asked. "Nothing serious, I hope?"

Many wondered how Phantom was so productive. He controlled the planet for less than a day and he already had done a lot. For example, he introduced military ranks, since their numbers grew considerably. This small army needed strict organization. And to create all of this in twenty hours was something to be proud of, even if duplication was involved.

"No, not at all, sir." Phantom could sense her nervousness all the way through the communication. "You ordered to inform you when the sorceress wakes up. She is awake now."

"Thank you, I'll be there shortly."

Danny turned off the communicator and looked at the commando.

"I've got to go now." He created a portal with a wave of his hand. "Think about my offer, Pax. It will be really sad if I will have to kill you one day."

And with that Phantom stepped inside the portal. He reappeared in an underground complex. It was based right under the governor's home and was used as a prison. That was where Danny threw all the former governmental representatives. The surviving sorceress, however, was put in a special cage.

Danny made his way through the shady metal corridors, lightened only by the weak red light bulbs. His figure could be easily spotted because of shining white aura surrounding him. Once they saw their leader, the rebels guarding the cell stood still.

"Open the doors," Phantom ordered curtly and they obeyed. One of the soldiers turned to the console and pressed a few buttons, before the door slid open.

Danny calmly stepped inside the room. There he was greeted by his own security measure: an ecto barrier. The sorceress was a Force user; after all, leaving no security measures would have been foolish, and Phantom was not a fool. The barrier dispersed for a moment, before closing right behind the ghost. The cell was what was expected from it; future or not, physical needs were the same to anyone. The sorceress was sitting on a metal bed, not looking up at him, with her mask still on.

Danny smiled slightly. "Well, good morning, I guess."

He sat on a chair near the table and gestured for her to sit as well. She didn't. Phantom tapped on a table with his fingers.

"You are in no mood to speak, are you? I am not going away without answers, so you know."

The sorceress stayed quiet, before finally responding. "Turn off the cameras first."

Danny chuckled, before looking at where the camera was. He nodded and the small red dot turned black. The sorceress got up and sat in front of the ghost teen.

"I'd like to see the face of the one I'm talking with."

He sensed a wave of annoyance and aggravation. "I can shut down the ventilation system in this mask and force you to take it off. I'm letting you do that before I take action," Danny continued with a calm expression and amused tone.

"UGH!"

She finally took off the mask, letting the ghost teen see her face. The sorceress couldn't be older than him, eighteen maximum. She had dark purple hair, which seemed black in some places, with her eyes being the same color. Of course, there was that natural orange skin color. Phantom looked a little surprised.

"What?" She snapped.

"I expected you to be older," Danny leaned back on the chair. "This helmet changes voice drastically," he murmured, thinking about something.

If she had fallen to the Dark Side completely, her eyes would have become yellow and red. Yet they had natural color, it was a good sign.

"I didn't catch your name," Danny looked back at her.

"Because I didn't say it," the sorceress muttered. "My name is Komand'r."

Phantom smiled. It was going better than he expected. "Hm, _commander,_ funny."

"What's funny?" she almost growled.

"Just my home language, never mind."

A silence settled for some time. Two Force users just looked at each other, each having different thoughts. While the sorceress wanted to rip his throat and stuck it somewhere where the sun doesn't shine, Phantom was trying to choose the best way of continuing conversation. However, it was Komand who spoke first.

"Where is Hodor?" she asked.

"Dead. Killed with this." Danny took out the lightsaber and her eyes widened. "That is precisely the reason I came here. Where did you get a _lightsaber_?"

"A what?"

Danny raised his eyebrow. Did she even know what she had wielded?

'Wait, I said that in English,' He realized. He automatically switched to his own language, which meant that this word didn't exist in theirs.

Phantom twirled the hilt of the weapon in his hand. "A lightsaber," he attempted to translate. "That's the name of your weapon. Where did you find it?"

"It is a family relic. The...lightsaber never worked until I held it. Maybe it feeds from magic..."

"It is called 'The Force', not magic, and yes, it can be charged during meditations or by contact, if the conditions are right. But… The lightsaber wasn't made by you, and so you lack the required connection to it. Let me show you."

Phantom put the weapon on the table. It floated in the air, before starting to dissemble by itself. Part by part he was getting towards the main element, and with one final twist, the cyber crystal was taken out of the special cage, lighting the entire room with crimson color. Komand stared at this; she never tried to look what's inside. She was afraid to break such a powerful weapon.

"Each Force user makes its own lightsaber. The key component - a cyber crystal, is tied to a certain person, so no one will be able to use the other's weapon just as effectively. I saw this when we fought. You couldn't use the lightsaber well enough to best me, no offense."

"And this 'Force'...is that what you used back then?" Komand asked.

"Not at all, I prefer using ghost powers." His hand glowed red at this, and Danny couldn't help but smile proudly. "But the entire potential of the Force is yet to be found. It can leave the entire planets lifeless, it can obliterate space armadas, it can create new life forms and heal any wounds. It's an energy, flowing through every living being, no matter how small the being is."

'And not only living beings,' he added mentally.

"But look at me rambling," Danny chuckled. "I'm here to listen your story, after all. So, what are the origins of this weapon?"

The sorceress looked down in thought. She would be assisting an enemy if she told him, even if she didn't know what Phantom was going to do with the newfound information. On the other hand, Komand'r could learn more about the Force in exchange. Maybe one day she would get enough power to kill that arrogant bastard sitting in front of her. The pros were definitely bigger than the cons.

She sighed. "It came from my ancestor. Actually, he got it from the outlander. He was visiting a border planet, they were preparing for a war against the Chiss Assendancy. When they saw an unauthorized ship, they took it down. No survivors. There wasn't many of them, though, only one. He looked a bit like you, with white skin, as he described. One of your kind?"

"I don't think so. The beings of my race don't leave our planet, they are unable to. I am the first one to venture into space. Were there any other traits?"

"Black hair and blue eyes, that's all. There were some data cards and other things on the unknown language."

"Most probably it was human. They are the most populous race in the galaxy," Danny crossed his legs. "Go on with a story, please. What was he wearing?"

"Some kind of armor. Yellow, black and red. The journal wasn't that generous with details."

"Hm, on the contrary, we now know a lot. We can guess that he was neither a Jedi or a Sith," Komand raised her eyebrow at unfamiliar terms, but Phantom didn't notice.

"But how this man got a lightsaber, though?" Danny hummed. "This one was made by a Sith, only they make curved lightsabers. Plus the color is a dead giveaway. And they aren't the most generous bunch. Then it was either stolen or taken from a dead body. The last one is unlikeable, but possible. But the fact that our supposed thief ended up here means that he was trying to run away."

"Why?"

"Believe me, where he is from it will be considered a suicide to make a hyperspace jump here. He must have been very desperate. So he WAS being followed, probably by its owner. Notice, I found that only by knowing that he was from the Republic. Take that, Sherlock. How long ago that was?"

"Thousand years ago," Komand answered, stunned by his line of assumption.

"So the owner is dead by now. I doubt that the Sith who let someone steal his lightsaber could live for long. I believe I heard enough for now."

Danny rose from his seat and left the cell with a thoughtful expression on his face. Phantom looked down at now his lightsaber. Even if it was almost clear how it ended up in the Unknown Regions, he still didn't know its true owner. With his search narrowed to thousand years ago, he needed to find out which Sith Lord 'reigned' back then and he would possibly get his answer. Nevertheless, Phantom got the lightsaber after defeating Komand'r, and the Sith blade should respect the power possessed by the ghost teen.

Phantom created a portal and reappeared in his chamber, formerly known as the governor's bedroom. It was painted typically in orange and black. There was a king sized bed, untouched by the ghost, since he didn't have the need in it. Many weird artifacts were on the shelves; they were simple objects of art, nothing of interest for Danny, even if they looked rather peculiar. He spent a lot of time in that room, carefully planning what he was going to do, drinking a lot of coffee tasting stuff.

There was one important question which needed to be solved: the question of property. The slavers were imprisoned, not executed like many people wanted. Phantom was feeling merciful; they could be valuable tools for his plan. Sadly, the populace didn't see all the possibilities. He could understand that, hate was one way to becoming blind.

Their property, on the other hand, was a more touchable topic. They wanted to do the typical communist thing—take from the rich and share among the crowd. Nothing wrong about that, but he had better not forget that there were also good rich men, who fairly earned their money. It was good to be able to sense lies. Phantom protected them from the populace, but he let the crowd have fun with their former masters. What exactly? Well, some things were better left unspoken.

Danny sighed, dropping on the chair. Life was so much easier in GIW compound. Not without daily tortures, but it WAS rather simple. Get up, go through torture, wash away the blood and ectoplasm, go to bed. Still, his afterlife might not be easy, but it sure was interesting. Speaking of interesting, he had an admiral to converse with. Phantom turned on the communicator, which was situated on the table. His call was answered almost instantly. A full sized hologram of the aged man appeared.

"Ah, Outlander, is there a reason for your call? I'm busy right now."

"Aand you are just as impatient as before," Danny grinned. "I have done my part of the deal. Scaball is currently occupied counting all the cockroaches in his cell."

"Who?"

Phantom rolled his eyes. "They are the most unkillable pest insects on my planet. They can even survive an orbital bombardment. I'm saying that my part of the job is done. We are the government here now," he crossed his legs with a proud smirk on his face.

"Do not jump over your head, Outlander. This is only a temporary measure; you are getting off this planet as soon as I get there."

"Which is..."

"Five Valor'rum days, I will arrive by that time and then you get off. Am I clear?"

"Sure thing, old man."

The admiral closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "What exactly are you planning to do?"

"We put a small fight and eventually let you win," Danny shrugged.

"Your men are going to die, then," the old man pointed.

"Yes, but the others will live freely."

The admiral snorted. "You don't have any principles, do you?"

"I do, but every action has own losses. Heh, I sound like Vlad now."

"Free me from your inner problems, boy. Make sure you put a believable fight."

With that the transmission was over. Danny sighed, running a hand through his hair. He really was becoming like Vlad. But...Phantom suddenly found himself accepting that fact. It was easy to criticize the half-ghost, when Danny was a naive champion of Amity Park. Now, on the other hand, he was in the same situation as him. It was stupid to think that Masters gained all the influence and money only with possession. No, he was cunning and deceitful, knowing when to remain loyal and when to betray.

'We are more the same than you think, little badger,' he used to say.

Plasmius was right in some way. They had something in common, but unlike the older halfa, Phantom had principles. He would never cause any harm until it was necessary. The choking act from before was a show. He never planned on killing the soldiers. But there was no need for them to know that. As for the admiral, he served his purpose, Phantom never planned on simply leaving the planet. Especially now, when the population was almost entirely on his side.

Danny smiled deviously. He was going to have both the ship and the high ranking imperial officer.

-Later-

Danny watched the green screen in the headquarters. The screen was showing the radioactive interference, in other words, hyperspace exit. If the dreadnought came, they would know and greet the ship properly. The rebels were fussing around, doing their own preparations. They learned how to use yuthanean machinery and electronics. Not on the level of mastery, but it was acceptable. Former imperial instructors, siding with the Rebellion, could train them in just that in such a short time.

"Ensign, the status of the ion cannon?" Phantom asked.

"Fully operational and ready to fire, sir," she responded.

Danny nodded. "Wait for my signal and only then start to charge it."

The operative rebels' eyes widened. "But...sir, their engines will shut down, too! The ship will fall down on the city!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Phantom smirked.

Darth Nihilus kept his ship from falling apart with a little to no effort. On his current level of strength, plus the size of the arriving ship, it could take some of his energy, but not that crucial. However, he couldn't use his ghost powers while holding the dreadnought. Danny was practicing on the space debris, moving an enormous piece using the Force.

But he was not supposed to hold it forever; after all, the systems should restart after fifteen minutes. More than enough to get aboard without any trouble. Danny just hoped that the admiral would not unleash his wrath upon the citizens, otherwise Phantom's good mood would be ruined.

"Commander, the dreadnought exited the hyperspace!"

"How much time we have before it gets here?"

"About ten minutes."

Phantom turned around and took his way to the exit. On the landing pad was a jet fighter, which could also be used as a transport for his men. He could just fly there, but the other rebels couldn't. He mustn't be overconfident; he must be ready for any surprises. If they found the means to trap him, there must be a support from his subordinates, and the other way around.

"What a nice day it is, huh?" Danny asked Haseas over the sound of the engine turning on and the storm raging on the distance.

"If by that you mean an eight points storm then I can't agree more," the second in command responded sarcastically, coming inside the fighter.

"Aren't you going to take any armor?" he asked.

Danny was wearing the same dark robes he bought on Coruscant. He came to like them. The robes were very light and didn't slow his movements - perfect for the Force user. But yes, they couldn't even stop a usual metal bullet, which meant it was not the best protection.

Phantom smirked cockily. "I'd like to see them try landing a single hit."

Inside the ship were ten people, pilot not included. They had already situated themselves in the special seats when Danny and Haseas came in. It wasn't hard to pick the rebels to go on the mission. Not many had enough guts to go against the dreadnought with AT LEAST a thousand battle droids aboard. Who knew, maybe there was even more. Everything Danny had was the plans of the ship and its capabilities, including how much soldiers it could carry.

To ensure that the dreadnought wouldn't bomb the ground, he created that storm. The ability was called just that: a Force storm. It combined telekinesis and Force lighting. It manipulated the nearby atmospheric conditions to whip the weather into a frenzy. A skilled enough user could create the storm several kilometers in diameter. Phantom certainly was; he covered an entire city and the nearby territory. Without lighting, though; he didn't want to damage anything.

He needed to give coordinates to the ion cannon, because the blindness worked both ways.

"Sir, we are coming above the clouds," the pilot informed through intercom.

"Proceed further," Danny ordered. "Everyone, keep your cool; it may feel a little strange, but no harm will be done."

Everyone watched with curiosity when Phantom put his hand on the wall. Then, much to their surprise, the surface started to disappear. Sensing their fear, Danny turned to the rebels.

"Relax everyone, we are simply going invisible. You are not going to fall anywhere, and you will become invisible as well."

That put them more at ease, but they still felt uncomfortable not seeing own bodies.

"Pilot, status," Phantom asked.

"Eh, it's...unusual. I don't think I will be able to land in the docks if we remain invisible."

"This is temporary. By the time we get to the hanger we will bypass all the cannons."

After a few minutes they finally exited the cloud cover, and the dreadnought showed up before their eyes.

It was two miles long, in a shape of 'H' letter, painted in black with orange outlines. Its two decks were connected with the third one in the middle. The front deck was about 0.8 miles wide, while the back deck, including the wings, was 1 mile in width. The ship's forage had something like the wings flipped to the side, and each of the wings had two turbo lasers for shooting at the target ahead. The surface of the wings was armed as well, with laser and blaster cannons providing side defense. Five massive engines were located on behind.

The middle deck was armed to teeth with seemingly everything the galaxy could offer: turbo lasers on each side, a large amount of laser cannons, ion cannons, tractor beams, etc. The bridge was located there; it was a small square construction on top. Smart move, it would be hard to land a direct hit on such a small target. However, the position was rather bad; Danny would have moved the bridge to the back of the dreadnought. If you put a lot of eggs in one bag, don't complain later if you drop it and break all the eggs.

The front deck didn't have that many weapons, not even a single turbo laser, only the smaller cannons to protect the ship from the starfighters. However, there was something else. A huge circular hole in the centre. Phantom acquired the blueprints of the dreadnought, and he knew what it was for. Once fully charged and fired, it could tear the enemy ship apart with a massive beam of energy. The ghost teen couldn't believe that such a monstrosity could even get in the air.

'Just how much energy it wastes?' Danny thought. 'Most probably, it can't use all the weapons at once.'

Of course he was thinking about how the ship worked; after all, it was soon to be his.

"Sir, we are approaching the hanger. It would be nice if you dropped invisibility!" the pilot warned.

"Inform the cannon on the ground about the coordinates. We need to take precautions."

The ion cannon was supposed to shut down the defenses in case they weren't able to get inside.

After his order was completed, Danny started to count.

"Prepare to fly as fast as possible, dropping invisibility on three...two...one...GO!"

He removed his hand from the ship and it flickered into invisible spectrum. Almost instantly, the ship's firepower was unleashed upon the much smaller fighter. The pilot was skillful enough to evade most of them, never mind the burning wing. Plus, they were close enough to the hanger, so the cannons didn't have much time to shoot.

The landing wasn't exactly what you could call pleasant or soft. They rode on the bare bottom of the ship by inertia. Thankfully, no one was hurt because of that.

"Well, that went better than I thought it would be," Danny commented as some of the rebels hurled on the floor. "What are you waiting for? Get moving!" he ordered.

The rebels exited the ship. The hanger was big and could fit in about thirty starfighters and bombers. They were empty at the moment, since they required pilots, instead of being the droids themselves. Phantom led his troops to the exit. He took out his PDA, which showed the map of the dreadnought. His plan was to get to the bridge and force the admiral to surrender. They went towards the exit, and were greeted by the first squad of droids. Besides the usual one eyed droids, there was one twice a human's size, with two built-in guns, walking on three thick legs.

They opened fire, and the rebels hid behind the starfighters, retaliating with fire of their own. Danny activated his lightsaber and started to deflect the blaster bolts back to the senders. His bigger concern was the bigger droid. Phantom pushed the droids back, which gave him time to approach. He cut off the droid's leg with no effort, making it fall forward. Danny shot an ecto blast into another droid, before jumping and slashing the big droid in half. By the time he finished, Phantom was almost hit by a metal fist. One of the droids decided to engage in hand-to-hand combat. Danny managed to get a grip on the droid's neck and tore the head off. He looked around and saw that the other droids were down.

"Moving on, guys," Danny called, "We need to hurry."

The troops didn't object and followed their leader. On the way, they faced even more droids and even turrets coming from the walls. Phantom was in front of the group and deflected most of the blasts, while creating small ecto barriers for his men to hide behind. With one lighting strike, the droids were down. No common resistor could protect from a 1.21 gigawatt lightning bolt. Danny couldn't always use lightning, otherwise he could damage something important. This ability couldn't be fully controlled.

Danny wasn't holding the weapon with both hands, as it was meant to be, nor he held by one in each hand. He held it in his right hand, while his left hand was free. He constantly shifted the Force lighting with ecto blasts, the former for the crowd, the last one for the direct strong hit. Sometimes he used telekinesis in order to drop something on his enemies, or push them over the edge into the bottomless pit. Such a waste of space, but it was still entertaining.

They got to an open space, with their destination being the elevator to the bridge. The rebels got there without any trouble, but when one of them called for the elevator, they were surrounded by the droids, who came from every entrance and started to approach.

"Uhm, is this a part of your plan, boss?" Haseas asked nervously.

"Not exactly. How long until the elevator gets down?"

"About twenty seconds."

"More than enough for me," Danny gave a fanged smirk. "I advise you all to close your ears."

The white haired teen breathed the air in, before unleashing his most powerful attack: a loud, echoing sound, so intensive that it could be seen by the naked eye. The green waves of energy flew forward, tearing apart pieces of metal from the ground and the droids' body pieces. Those who managed to keep themselves in one piece were thrown into the wall with such strength that they were broken afterwards, leaving dents on the wall. The rebels closed their ears and grimaced; even with closed ears it was too loud.

After everything on his path was destroyed, Danny closed his mouth, smiling slightly. He was a full ghost, so he couldn't turn human. And since his power grew, he was able to stay on his feet and retain his ability to fight. Phantom turned to his men, who stared at him with wide eyes.

"Told ya," he said cockily. "Oh look, the elevator is here."

The rebels looked behind and saw that the elevator doors were opened. They went inside, thankfully it was spacey enough. Danny was the last one to go, but suddenly he stopped as the sudden thought occurred in his mind.

"Guys, go without me. I'll scout ahead."

The others looked confused. How was he going to get up first? Still, they obeyed. When the elevator doors closed, Phantom flew up in the air and through the ceiling. Danny got to the required floor. He softly stepped on the floor, looking around. It was one narrow corridor, without any protection.

"Huh, they learn from their mistakes," he commented.

Yet again, fighting against a lightsaber combatant in a closed space was a death sentence.

The elevator behind opened and the troops stepped outside. Phantom leaned against the wall, smirking at their confused faces. Well, except Haseas, he got used to that stuff. Without extra words, the reunited group went through the corridor. They got to the door, but it was locked. Danny ordered them to step aside, before igniting the lightsaber and slashing into the central line between two parts of the door. He sliced down and pushed it forward, effectively breaking it in two parts.

There was a 'path' to the circular platform in the center. Two small stairways led to the lower level, where all the navigation and weapon consoles were located. The rebels had company. Besides almost harmless piloting droids there was the captain. But not the admiral.

"Hello there," he said, obviously smirking under that stupid helmet of his.

"Captain Hex." Danny grinned, twirling the lightsaber in his hand. However, under that grin of his was great displeasure.

"If you are looking for the admiral Pompeus, he'd like to talk with you."

The Captain pressed a few buttons on the table, before a hologram appeared on it. The admiral was smirking down at the ghost teen.

"What a surprise," he said. "I just knew you would betray me, so I decided to take a few precautions. You will surrender, and then be delivered to the capital for execution, for crimes against the Yuthanean Empire."

"What makes you think I'll surrender that easily?" Danny tilted his head to the side.

"You seem to care about the scum you call 'rebels'. If you don't surrender, I'll order to start bombardment."

"Oh, is that so?"

Phantom put his hands behind his back, pressing a small button on the bracelet he was wearing. The rebels behind noticed the movement.

"You are just as arrogant as always," the admiral commented. "Do you seriously think that you can stop the ship by yourself?"

"Not stop," Danny grinned. "Hold it, on the other hand..."

The second he said that, the entire dreadnought started to shake violently as the purple beam hit it. The clumsy droids stumbled and fell on their butts, along with some of the rebels. The holocom shut down, along with all machinery powered by electricity. Phantom was probably the only one unfazed by the fact that the ship started to descent unwillingly. He planned all of this beforehand, that's why he ordered to charge the cannon even before they launched the small attack.

"Sir, we are being hit with an ion cannon!" the droid stated the obvious.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Danny deadpanned.

Hex looked at the ghost teen, holding the nearest railing to stop himself from falling.

"Are you NUTS?! We all are going to die!" he shouted.

Phantom sighed loudly, waving his hand. "Then I have nothing to lose," he mumbled, "But since I need this ship intact..."

He sat on the ground cross-legged, closed his eyes and started to concentrate. The dreadnought started to slow down. They were halfway through the clouds when the ship stopped falling and steadied itself, still completely shut down. Phantom opened his eyes, only to see a gun pointed at his face. He wasn't bothered, he only grinned toothily.

"So, cap'n, want to kill me?" he asked innocently.

"Nothing personal, kid, I'm being paid too well."

"Yes, but you can't kill me, for two reasons. One, I'm the only reason you aren't a pancake yet. Kill me, and you will die shortly after. Two, I doubt my friends will agree with you."

The captain suddenly noticed that every rebel present was pointing a blaster rifle at him. He sighed, before raising his hands in surrender. Phantom got on his feet.

"Well, cap'n, I need droid access codes. Now."


	10. Chapter X: A jedi and his companion

So far everything was going as planned. Danny had a feeling that the hyperspace beacon was built by chinese kids in underground facility near Shanghai for two pennys in hour. It fell apart after the first bombardment. Most probably it wasn't intended to be some powerhouse, it wasn't a battlestation, after all. Yuths' disadvantage was a small bonus to him. Unlike the 'known' galaxy, Yuths and Chisses required that beacons to travel between planets. The reason for such an unusual way of travel was the lack of astromech droids.

Besides their usual duties of repairing any damage done to the ship, they also calculated the route towards another system. Yuths had battle droids, which can even be considered to have A.I, but somewhat they lacked astromechs. Chisses didn't have any droids at all, they won all their wars with their natural intelligence, cunning and warrior skills. Something what Yuthanean generals completely lacked, apparently. It was still a mystery for Phantom how such a state could exist in so dangerous place like the Unknown Regions.

However, they needed further course of action. They may had had a powerful ship in their disposal, but going against the entire fleet was foolish. Danny had an idea about how to build a fleet for free and almost instantly.

He could use the Star Forge, if not for one thing - it was destroyed by Revan. Bogan and Ashla taught him some of the history of the galaxy, which Danny might require, from their unusual point of view. They sided with their side, of course, but Bogan still despised the Sith despite being on their side. Understandable, from what Phantom learned, the Dark side user eventually becomes its slave, and only a few can get out from its grasp. That's most probably the reason he dislikes them, despite what he says. He treated them like the slaves they were.

Returning back to the matter at hand, the Star Forge was in no condition to use. Danny's idea was to go to another Rakatan base, which served the same purpose as the Star Forge, even if not in such big amounts. There was a problem, however. It was located on the Republic territory, even if no one cared about that sector.

Phantom wasn't worried about it TOO much. Bogan, feeling surprisingly generous, taught him the technique of hiding his potential, which was used by the Sith a lot. The Force settled down since he arrived there. The disturbance was like a typhoon. A gust of warm or cold wind gets to the certain place, creating a massive storm, but after a while the storm calms down. So, the disturbance wasn't that big now, it couldn't be felt across the entire galaxy. Danny's new ability helped him to cover his unusually strong connection to the Force, so he couldn't be tracked that easily like back on Coruscant. However, if some Jedi passes nearby, he will undoubtedly feel Phantom's presence.

The rebels were finishing their preparations for departure. The droid access codes brought the crew under Danny's command, but he still took a plenty of his soldiers. A hundred men and women fit inside the ship just fine. Turned off droids didn't require much space and were stationed in their own place in the dreadnought. But with the living personnel they needed to take food and water with them. Too sad Phantom couldn't get his hands on the Infinite Engine, it could make all the living needs from nothing. Rakata were geniuses, no surprise they conquered the galaxy so easily.

Danny left Haseas on the planet, so he could report him about the situation there while he was absent. Not a single sign of Pax anywhere, maybe he had gone rogue. As for the prisoners, they were left on Valorrum, as Danny preferred to call the planet, without that pause in the middle. Except for the 'sorceress'. He decided to bring Komand'r with him. Phantom actually enjoyed their small chats, which she undoubtedly thought to be interrogations. Danny thanked Jazz a lot lately, her psychology babbling seemed to play their part in the conversations.

He didn't need to use the Force to feel something deep inside of her. Struggling, conflict, all of that was there. Danny was hoping to unravel that secrets and eventually help her. However, she was still as arrogant and proud as always. It was going to be hard, that much was obvious.

While the preparations were being finished, Danny spent his time in the captain's room. It was rather comfortable, and resembled the governor's chambers a bit. They weren't very original with design. A big table with the holographic screen, a bed, a shelf with different alcohol drinks, a wardrobe and a shelf with different books. Electronic ones, sadly. Danny liked paper books more, most probably because he was used to them.

His thoughts were interrupted by the beeping noise of communicator. Phantom pressed a few buttons and the image appeared.

"Sir," the ensign stood still, before relaxing her stance. "We are ready to go, your presence is required on the bridge."

"I'll be there shortly."

Danny simply made a portal and stepped through it. He liked this ability the most.

The bridge was lively, if you consider the droids living beings. There was a comfortable chair in the middle, reserved for the commander, namely Phantom. The ensign jumped slightly from surprise when I appeared. His ghostly nature loved scaring people like that.

"Ensign, get this ship to the orbit," Danny ordered, sitting in the chair.

She nodded, before giving commands to the droids. The dreadnought started to ascend in the air. After a while, everything Phantom could see were the stars and the endless darkness of space. He couldn't help but, pun not intended, space out. He loved space, and at the moment he was childishly fanboying at being like Captain Kirk from Star Trek, you know, sitting on a chair, in the middle of the bridge...Danny hoped his excitement wasn't that obvious. Sure, he could fly in space, but being inside the ship felt different.

Danny was thinking about the name for the ship. It should be powerful, magnificent, something which will later made the enemies fear it. But he had another things to do, so naming the dreadnought became a secondary objective. Oh, well, he'll have time later.

"Commander, what's the next order?" The ensign asked.

Danny took out a space map Clockwork gave him and connected it to the table with a special included wire. He didn't know where the Time Lord got it, but it was useful as hell. Danny turned it on and the map projection appeared. He searched for one system in particular.

"It should be riiight here," Phantom mumbled, rubbing his chin, before finding the needed place.

The way was strangely easy. It was one straight line across the galaxy. One problem, though. That way they will have to go through the core, where one big bad black hole was located. Going straight through was a suicide. He liked his afterlife too much, mind you. They will have to pick another route, around the core. The map offered special passageways around anomalies, in order to get out of the Unknown Regions. One of that corridors was their first destination. All in all, they will get to the Nanth'ri system in a week. Stupid slow hyperdrive.

Danny ordered to set the coordinates manually, since the map gave them to the owner. The first point was the entrance of one corridor, the second one was the exit from it. And only then they will be able to set the course towards their destination. But they had to go carefully, the Republic would notice the ship of their size size and freak out. Danny scouted the route beforehand, picking the planets without any scanners. It was exhausting to say the least.

"Entering the hyperspace on three..." one of the droids informed in its usual low voice, "two...one."

The droid pulled the lever. Danny was actually interested how the lightspeed was like and he was not disappointed. Pearly white lines covered the entire view outside of the ship, before they entered the hyperspace with a light push. How to describe the hyperspace itself? Surprisingly, the Ghost Zone was the closest definition. This two places were very similar, besides the fact that the hyperspace was a mass of blue and black instead of green, black and purple. Oh, and the first one didn't have any chunks of land.

Danny didn't know how much he was gazing into the swirling mass. The ensign called for him.

"Sir, I don't recommend you to look for too long out there. People are drived insane because of that," she warned.

Phantom smiled slightly. "Thanks for the warning, I'll be careful."

She nodded. "Why do you stare out there so much?"

"That's because it reminds me of home," Danny chuckled. "Or, actually, the place I came to call home."

The ensign nodded and walked out of the bridge. Phantom sighed, leaning back in his chair. It was going to be a long trip.

-Later-

It felt lonely during the sleep time. While everyone was enjoying their sweet dreams, wetting their pillows with their drool, Danny was the only one awake. Of course, he could do a lot of things, but during the nights it really was lonely. And since the droids weren't the most chatty company, it wasn't much different on the dreadnought, where the troops followed the time shedule, letting the droids pilot the ship during the 'night'.

Phantom spent most of that time meditating and reading the books he had read thousand times before. But it got boring. During the sixth day of the trip Danny was on his usual walk around the ship, trying to entertain himself somehow, going as far as walking on the ceiling and looking down at everything upside down. Or going with closed eyes and hitting the walls by accident. He wasn't using the Force, it kept things interesting. He even fell into shaft once.

People say you can learn about the person by seeing what it does when no one is looking. Danny's childish acts could tell about the childhood he never had. Not often he could allow himself to be like that. When your parents are neglectful bastards, you have to mature fast. Sometimes he could rely on Jazz, but she wasn't always there for him, despite her best efforts. Danny missed his big sister. But he couldn't allow himself to be consumed by grief. He could turn it into anger and use it against the ones who did that.

In his musings Danny hadn't noticed where he was until hearing the voice.

"You done stomping around like a herd of nathacks?"

Phantom looked around and saw that he was in prison ring, and the voice came from one of the cells.

"Good evening, Komand," he smiled, looking at the prisoner behind the energy field.

"It's long past midnight," she groaned in her pillow, causing Danny to chuckle.

"Yes, yes it is...Did I wake you up?" He asked concerned.

"Don't pretend like you care," she spat, glaring up at him with her dark purple eyes.

"Alright I won't, but the question remains," Danny shrugged, leaning against the wall.

Komand'r looked on the ground, shifting on her bed. "No, you didn't," she mumbled.

Danny raised his eyebrow. He didn't expect her to be honest. Most probably she didn't see the need to lie.

"Insomnia?" Phantom asked.

"When you smell like a gorn during mating season it's a bit hard to fall asleep," she deadpanned.

"If want a shower all you needed was to ask," Danny smiled.

Komand got into sitting position and blinked in surprise.

'Is he really...'

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sound of the energy field turning off. Danny was smirking at her from the opened doorway.

"C'mon now, I'll show you the way," he said.

"Are...are you just letting me go like that?" Komand asked.

"Well, I will be guarding you, after all. We are in the hyperspace, so you can't escape either. Not to mention that without me you won't be able to find your way home. You simply don't have any way to stab me in the back."

Danny shouldn't have closed his eyes while shrugging. He suddenly was pinned to the wall as Komand started to choke him.

"Even kill you and force the crew to obey?" She smirked with a malicious gleam in her eyes.

Phantom simply became intangible, letting her hands fall through. Komand didn't lose the stance, however, in a few kicks and one swift motion Danny pushed her back and lifted her off the ground with the Force, narrowing his toxic green eyes at the sorceress as he started to choke her.

"Let me rephrase what I said - you CAN'T stab me in the back," Phantom said. "All I have to do is to snap my fingers to crush your neck. Remember this next time you try to end me."

He let go of Komand, making her fall on the ground with a thud. She gasped loudly and started to pant. Danny's look changed from anger to worry in a blink. He shook his head slightly.

"I'd hate to fulfill my threat, Komand, so you know."

"Go to hell," she coughed.

Danny sighed, before turning the energy field on. He turned away and walked out of the room. Yes, it was going to be hard.

'But yet again, when it wasn't?'

-Later-

Phantom spent the rest of the night in meditation. He shouldn't have reacted like that. Sometimes it was hard for him to understand the Force. He could choke his enemies or shock them to get information, as long as he wasn't enjoying it. However, such reactions could not be allowed. It's not like he did it with the intention to harm her. He protected himself, but went too far. The choking act was unnecessary, she was defenseless against him.

He didn't want to become a soulless monster like Dan. All conditions for it were right there: the loss of the loved ones, extra crucial pain he went through, and finally a burning hatred towards certain people. Everything that cocktail needed was a rough shake. Danny was walking down a dangerous path, where every his decision could affect the fate of millions. Dan was limited with one planet, which he turned lifeless. If he gets access to the entire galaxy with all the newfound power...it was too horrifying to even think about that.

Danny heard footsteps and a loud chatter outside of his room.

'Is it a breakfast already?' He thought.

The response was made by his core. Yes, core. Since it was the only organ in his body, his core signaled with certain pulses that he needed to eat. Different kinds of ectoelectricity surge through the body, causing different feelings. It worked similarly to the electricity in nerves of human bodies. It was something Fentons and the GIW refused to acknowledge, which could have calmed down their conscience, if they had any.

Danny got up on his feet, outstretching his sore limbs. His night accident reminded him that he hadn't had a shower for a long while. Phantom went to the toilet close to his quarters. He never actually visited his new bathroom, since he didn't have, well, human needs. It was less futuristic than he anticipated. It wasn't different from the ones back on Earth, yet again, everyone has to dispose of the food remnants, besides the ghosts, they just refined the food entirely.

Phantom cleaned himself up rather quickly with some weird shampoo, or at least what he hoped was a shampoo, the bottles weren't labeled. It smelled nice, though, with some fruits maybe. Danny looked up at himself through the mirror, before noticing how he changed during the last months. When he had just escaped, he didn't even want to look at the young man in front of him. Months of trainings and good nurturing did their job. Danny even returned packs on his chest.

'Sam liked them a lot,' he chuckled with a smile.

The only thing ruining the view was a network of scars and one Y-shaped vivisection remnant across his chest. The GIW butchers clearly wanted to leave something to remember about them.

But there were some positive changes. Danny's eyes started to shine brighter, on the contrary to the dull light during his imprisonment. His stark white hair became even purer, without any sign of their former raven black color. So white that they seemed to emmit the light of their own, without his aura.

Phantom searched for any spare clothes in the drawer. Luckily for him, there was some. He threw his robes inside the special tube in order to clean them up. The special cleaning droids should do their job. Danny's newfound clothes included surprisingly comfortable black officer uniform with green buttons, black pants with lower leg pockets, white boots with black belts and white leather gloves. (Basically what you see on the story cover picture, just without axelbants and his symbol)

Phantom raised his eyebrow, it was like the clothes were made specifically for himself.

'Clockwork, if you have something to do with this, then you have a sense of style,' Danny smirked, before putting on the clothes.

He then became intangible and jumped through the floor, since the cafeteria was rightunder his room. Needless to say that everyone was scared as hell when he suddenly jumped from the ceiling. Danny grinned toothily at the rebels' surprised faces.

"Morning!" He said cheerfully, receiving multiple 'yeahs' and 'sure' in response.

Mostly they got used to their leader's appearing and disappearing acts. It didn't mean that they were always ready for his surprise visits.

Danny took a metal can from the carton box. That was an army ration in the empire. Even if the nathack stew tasted like rubber, it fulfilled the need to fill your stomach with something. Phantom picked the knife and pried open the can, before taking the spoon and starting to eat. He didn't seat anywhere, and generally avoided the conversation with anyone.

'I guess I'm becoming a sociopath,' Danny deadpanned mentally, eating the last spoonful of the stew and putting the can on the table.

He then proceeded to the elevator, which brought him up to the main room of the ship.

"The commander is on the bridge," the ensign informed as every present rebel stood still, even droids.

Danny grinned widely. "Looks like it's the last day of our journey, huh?" He said loudly, sitting on his chair. "At ease, soldiers."

Everyone returned to their duties, while Phantom was contemplating the following course of action. He knew a little to nothing about the station itself, only what it could do. Its defensive qualities remained unknown. Heck, he didn't even know if someone was present there for sure. The Republic's ship production was held in a tight grip of the Stellar corporations, such as Kuat and Corelian Drive Yards, and the shipyard which could make all the ships for free was a threat to their businesses. Plus, with the Republic's pacifistic ideals it was very unlikely that it was using the Foundry.

In his thoughts Danny hadn't noticed how all the remaining time passed, until the droid spoke.

"Sir, we are moving towards an asteroid belt, what are your orders?"

"Get as close to possible to it without any risk."

"Roger."

Phantom stood up, and came to the illuminator. Very soon, the ship exited the hyperspace, and as the white lines disappeared, the crew could finally see the surroundings. As the droid informed, there was an asteroid belt. As was previously stated, the Foundry wasn't as powerful as the Star Forge, it couldn't build the fleets from nothing. That's why it dug minerals from the vast number of asteroids. After a few minutes of silence, Danny finally saw the station.

They were out of reach for the Foundry's protection just in case. After all, it had turbolasers, which could be still operational, and damaging the station with the fire of their own wasn't Danny's plan. The station was built inside one of the biggest asteroids, with its parts peaking out from the giant rock. It could be easily spotted with the naked eye. Phantom hummed, raising his hand.

"I recommend to step aside, ensign," he said.

The second she did as was told, Danny's lightsaber flew on rapid speed into his hand.

"Ensign, do not approach the station unless I say otherwise," he said, putting the lightsaber on his belt.

"What are you going to..."

She didn't have time to finish before Danny jumped through the wall right into the open space. From the other end Phantom grinned at the shocked faces of his subordinates. He waved his hand and some even slowly waved back through their shock.

'How did he do that?' They all thought.

Danny turned around and flew towards the station on the top speed, becoming invisible in the process, so the scanners won't be able to track him. It took him a few minutes to get close. Danny stopped near a closed boarding deck and phased through. And what he saw was suspicious enough. The station seemed uninhabited from the outside, and Phantom thought that on the inside he would have to light his way in the dark corridors. However, everything seemed to work inside. Whoever took over the station was smart enough not to turn on outer lights. Still, it wasn't the part of the plan.

Phantom took his way through the corridor, without any destination in mind. Again, he didn't know the station's layout. He kept hearing some strange noises on the distance, obviously made by some animals - very nasty mix of screech, whine and howl.

Suddenly, when he was passing one of the doors, the sounds intensified.

'They are close.'

The moment he thought that, something started to claw the way through the walls. Danny immediately took and turned on his lightsaber and prepared to meet whatever gets out of there. Seconds later a giant spike broke through the wall and created a huge tear, then another one, until the list of metal was torn to shreds and a creature climbed out of the hole. It had a serpentine body, but instead of slithering it walked on multiple sceletal legs. The creature had a mouth was a gaping circular maw filled with concentric rings of razor sharp teeth.

It immediately noticed the ghost teen somehow, lack of eyes made it a little confusing. The creature quickly approached him with a screech. However, one slash of the lightsaber and it was dead. Then, more of the slugs poured through the hole. Danny charged an ectoblast and shot at the hole. The blast blew the rocks and blocked the path, smashing the creature trying to get through. Phantom then used the lighting to kill the ones who managed to get through.

Suddenly the wall communicator went off and started to beep. Phantom's eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he decided to respond.

He pressed the button, "Ehm, hi?" Was his greeting.

"Statement: You have picked the wrong time to come here," a weird voice sounded from another end, "Your presense is generally unwanted, and as much as it dissapoints me to say this, your assistance is required."

"Okaay," Danny said longingly, "What do you need?"

"Explanation: Those slimy slugs' reproduction has gotten out of hand, there is too many of them now. As the meatbags they are, they eat everything on their way. If they get to the generators, then we will have a problem. They are too stupid to realize that we all are going to die from the explosion. As much as I'd love to make a bracelet from their limbs, I'm in no condition to do so."

"And you want me to protect the generator?"

"Objection: It will be pointless. Explanation: More will come, they lay about 300 eggs during their lifespan. My defences will protect the generator from those meatbags. You must blow up their hatching place, it should stop them."

"Yeah, and where am I supposed to do that?"

"Inquiry: Do you have a datapad in your possession?"

"Yes, I do."

Understanding what the mysterious and weird person wanted, Danny took the datapad and used the special wire to connect it with the communicator. Immediately the map of the Foundry was downloaded in the database.

"Explanation: Their hatching place is located inside the caves leading to the asteroid surface. You can plant the explosives down there, and lock the meatbags inside. Once they are hatched, they will start eating each other until only one remains. And then it will die from starvation without having anyone to eat or reproduce with.

"That's...quite cruel," Danny commented, "Fine, I'll do it."

"Excited statement: Yes, go kill those meatbags as slow and painful as possible!"

And with that the transmission was over. Phantom looked down at the map, humming under his nose. On the map were free glowing red dots, which showed where he should plant the bombs. One problem, though, he didn't have any. He would have to blow them up on his own. Thankfully, well charged ectoblast could do even more.

There was no reason to trust that person who spoke to him, but that slugs were a bigger threat. Phantom needed that station, and if the Foundry is destroyed, it won't be much of use. Danny had a feeling that he was speaking with a droid, the manner of speech was very much alike. If that was truth, it was one bloodthirsty droid.

'Sammy, if you are watching this from up there, don't be mad,' Danny thought sarcastically.

After all, he was going to exterminate a huge population of animals, even if cannibalistic and disgusting ones.

Following the way the map was showing, Phantom moved through the enormous corridors without any more encounters with the slugs. The person also downloaded the information about that creatures, filled with different snarky remarks. K'lor'slugs they were called, which was a pretty accurate name. They were known to hide inside the ships, where they reproduced and ate everyone on their way. When starving, they could eat metal just to fill their stomachs with something. The person made a theory that they were brought to the Foundry by one of the old Imperial Star Destroyers.

Danny stopped when he hit the huge metal doors with his head. They led to the surface of the asteroid and were shut tight. Rubbing his sore forehead, Phantom became intangible and phased through them. The surface of the asteroid wasn't much different from the moon's surface. Same gray barrens with craters and small rocky hills. From his position Danny noticed some slugs on a distance, who roamed around without any purpose but food in mind.

Phantom jumped down from the platform he had stood on, before landing on the surface. The station had its own gravity, so he was pulled down. He created two duplicates to do the job faster, before they split in three directions. Because of the shared consciousness, only one had to carry the map, others could see it through his eyes.

The original approached the nearest cave with the hatching place, eliminating all the slugs on his way with the lightsaber. Once inside the cave, he charged a red ectoblast, before hitting the cave's ceiling, causing a chain reaction and a massive destruction. He had to avoid stalactites falling on him, though.

The duplicates were left without the lightsaber. Weapons couldn't be multiplied, unlike the clothes. Once he entered the cave, he was immediately surrounded by the slugs from two sides. Danny kicked the first one, throwing him into the wall, before electrocutting the approaching groups. As more of the slugs started to come, he came up with the idea. He shot an ectoblast right above himself, becoming intangible in the process. The rocks buried the slugs and locked the remaining ones inside. Another duplicate faced that slugs from the last remaining exit. Danny repeated the trick, before dispersing.

The real Danny flew back inside the facility. His hearing caught the sounds of blaster fire on the distance. Phantom ran through the corridor, trying to get there in time. He ended up entering one huge hall. It was a circular room, with a stone staircase being the only way down. There were ceveral giant statues, showing the Foundry's creators - Rakataneans. They had thin bodies, with tall heads and the eyes hanging on their sides.

As much as Danny would love to examine the remnants of the forgotten empire, he jumped on thelower floor and ran to another door. Opening the door, he saw the breaking fight. A squad of gray colored droids of humanoid shape were shooting the slugs like hunter on safary. Their aim was very precise. Rapidly shaking his head, Phantom engaged in fight, jumping right in the middle of the swarm. They immediately turned against him and tried to bite. Danny's eyes glowed bright blue, before he was surrounded by the field of the same color.

"Time for a new trick!" Danny exclaimed excitedly, before swiping his hands wide.

Immediately the snow storm ravaged around him, freezing everything on its way. Phantom dispersed the storm before it reached the droids. They were on his side. Probably.

Danny turned to face the droids, putting hands in his pockets. The droids stood still and didn't move.

"Soo, you have a boss, don't you?" Danny looked up, "If you are here then show yourself, please!" He raised his echoing voice.

In the middle of the room was a cylinder. It started to slowly open, before the master of the Foundry stepped out of it. As Danny guessed, it was indeed a droid. He was built just like the other droids. He had something skeleton like about his appearance, however he didn't have any exposed limbs, all of them were covered by the lists of armor. He was painted in rusty orange color, and no, he wasn't rusty himself, it was just the paint. He also had orange visors and a big blaster rifle in his hands.

"Question: Are you done already?" The droid asked.

"Yep, didn't you hear the explosions out there?" Danny pointed towards the exit with his thumb finger.

The droid looked at the frozen slugs. "What kind of technology did you use to turn them in popsicle?"

"None. Just my natural abilities," Danny made an ice crystal in his hand to prove his point.

"Surprised statement: My database doesn't know any race capable of that."

"Why do you need a database about the races' abilities?"

"Explanation: So I could most effectively slaughter them, of course."

Now Danny was becoming wary of the droid in front of him.

"And...what are we going to do now?" He asked.

"Statement: To my greatest joy, you shall be vaporized, meatbag."

The droids immediately pointed their blasters at Phantom. Danny narrowed his eyes and turned on his lightsaber, taking a fighting stance.

"If I don't cut you in half first."

Danny was preparing to attack, but then he felt something. Something he didn't feel in a long while. A small vapor of ice cold air came out of his mouth as he gasped. Instead of attacking the droids, he suddenly turned around and just as abruptly stopped the movement of his blade.

"Show yourself," Danny demanded.

The ghost did as was told and dropped invisibility, showing that the lightsaber was right under his chin. The ghost was dressed in long robes with a hood. The strange mask was covering his face. Unlike the ghosts Danny got used to, this one was see-through. The ghost was obviously surprised, but regained his composure quickly.

"HK, stand down," he ordered, before the droids could open fire.

"Objection: This is a trespasser, Master. Are you sure that I can't kill him?"

"Not right now, at least. I'd like to have a conversation with our guest. If he removes his lightsaber, that is," the ghost looked at Phantom as HK and his droids lowered their weapons.

Danny followed the gesture and turned off the lightsaber. He may had had more ghost power than the one in front of him, but he believed in diplomacy.

"Good," the ghost said. "Now, who are you?"

"Daniel James Phantom. I would have said 'Nice to meet you', but there are armored machines behind my back," Danny said, crossing his hands.

The ghost chuckled. "You are a snarky one, aren't you?"

Danny shrugged. "My sister called it defence mechanism."

"Why are you here, Sith? And don't try to deceive to me, or HK will open fire."

"Statement: Please do that."

Danny decided to be honest, but then he got what the ghost said. "Wait, you think I'm a Sith?"

"I have seen only one person who had such a powerful connection with the Dark side. You also seem to wield the Sith lightsaber."

"My people have a phrase: 'Don't judge a book by its cover'. I have a strong connection to the Light side as well. As for the lightsaber," Danny shrugged, "I took it from the Dark side user I defeated. I needed a weapon."

"Hm, interesting," the ghost commented, "But you haven't answered my question."

Danny sighed, "You see, I came from the far reaches of the Unknown Regions. Out there is an empire. Not as big or powerful as the Sith Empire, but just as tyrannical. The Republic wouldn't help, it's too busy getting out of its own corruption. It can't even stop the pirates from robbing their citizens. I came here to get the war power to free the innocents from the cruel nobility."

"Commentary: That was quite a speech," HK said.

"I think I start to like that guy," Danny commented.

"I don't sense lies in your words. But you are keeping something from me."

"Well...let's start from another topic so it will be easier to explain. I'm not a human, I'm like you. A ghost."

The ghost sized him up and down. "You? A ghost?"

"Heh, how to put it," Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "You are a Force ghost. Jedi or Sith, I don't care much about that. I am another kind of ghosts. As you can see, I have a physical form, along with the pack of unique abilities. I wouldn't have considered myself a ghost if not for one fact - I'm a walking dead. After all, how can a human teen survive a ten thousand electricity shock?!" He exclaimed, before taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry. The last thing the ghost should do is to recall his death."

'Or half-death,' he added mentally.

"I guess, it has own pros," Danny continued. "By a mere accident I gained something every Sith dreams about - immortality. I don't age if I don't want to. However, it comes with a price. Ghostly obsession is what gives us power and at the same time straps us with its use. My obsession is to protect. If I won't do that, I'll be ended. That's why I want to help, not only because my very being demands that, but because I want to give that people something I hadn't."

"That...is unusual," the ghost hummed. "Fine. The Foundry now is in your disposure. HK."

"Query: What do you need, Master?"

"Help our guest here and do not harm him yet. But," the ghost looked back at Phantom, "When you are done with giving commands, come to the hall and meditate. There is something I'd like to discuss with you. Farewell."

The ghost dissappeared and Danny looked at HK with a grin.

"Threatening statement: Don't even think about it, meatbag."


	11. Chapter XI: Gaining an apprentice

Danny walked through the corridors of the Foundry, reading the files about what the station had to offer.

The first one was about what shipyard could produce. The first ship twice smaller than Phantom's. It was the dreadnought of the Harrower-class. This was the largest and best-armed ship currently in production by the Foundry.

The 'point' of the Harrower-class's wedge was split down the middle for a quarter to a third of the length of the ship, forming two prongs. Between those two prongs was one of the Harrower-class's hangar bays, with two hangar openings stacked on top of each other and protected by force fields. Two additional hangars were located on either side of the ship, between the ends of the forward prongs and two smaller "wings" that protruded from each side closer to the rear of the ship. A final hangar was located on the underbelly of the dreadnought.

Harrower-class dreadnoughts sported heavily-reinforced hull plating and four shield generators, and the ship featured turbolaser batteries, quad laser cannons, ion cannons, proton torpedos, and concussion missile launchers as its armaments. Most Harrower-class dreadnoughts had three primary thrusters surrounded by four smaller ones located at the rear of the ship.

Two of the ship's shield generators were located on the upper hull of each of those wings, and an early model of the Harrower-class that saw use during the first years of the Great Galactic War between the Empire and the Galactic Republic had a set of four turrets on both the top and bottom sides of both wings. On the later model that saw wider use, those turrets were moved forward to form two rows of four turrets on both the top and bottom of the ship, just above the forward hangar bay. A smaller wedge was located on both the top and bottom of the dreadnought towards the rear, and the vessel's command tower was positioned at the rear of the vessel atop that wedge: wing-like protrusions extended out from atop the upper wedge, and the rectangular command tower was built atop the junction of the 'wings.'

The Terminus-class was similar in appearance to the smaller Gage-class transport, but wielded far more firepower. Despite the similar features found onboard the two ships, the Terminus destroyer was built as a dedicated warship used for a number of tasks such as escort missions, search and destroy or transporting important Imperial figures. This ship class boasted an impressive array of weaponry making it a match for the Galactic Republic's Thranta-class corvettes that were used as the workhorse for the Republic Navy. These ships were also used for securing recently captured territories in order to not tie up Harrower-class dreadnoughts.

As was previously said, the Gage-class resembled the larger Terminus-class destroyer, but wielded fewer turbolaser batteries. The transport instead had more space for cargo and room for barracks in which to carry troops. Its bridge deck was also noted for its wide and spacious design. The transport sported the heavy armor of the Terminus-class to help protect its cargo. The armor was strong enough for the transport to viably engage in last-ditch ramming maneuvers.

Danny smiled at what he read. Those ships were perfect, he could see how the Empire almost defeated the Republic. If not for a few Jedi, who saved the day as always, the Emperor would have ruled the galaxy. If Phantom gets them, then he would win the civil war he had started. HK already started building the fleet and the droids to drive them. It will take a month to build enough.

Another question arose, however, how was he supposed to transport the entire armada through the hyperspace unnoticed? It was already hard to avoid the scanners with his dreadnought.

In his thoughts, discoveries and contemplations Phantom hadn't noticed an obstacle on his way. He suddenly stumbled upon something and fell forward with a yelp of surprise. But then Danny stopped in midair and landed on his feet. He looked back and the only thing he saw was one snarky droid.

"Statement: Watch where you are going, meatbag," HK said.

"I...wait," Danny narrowed his eyes. "You tripped me, didn't you?"

"Question: What makes you say that?"

"Because there is nothing else I could trip on," Danny deadpanned, crossing his hands.

"Negative: Your poor organic eyesight must be fooling you."

"My eyesight is much better than yours. And I see perfectly well that the ground is absolutely flat, yet I hit something and almost fell."

HK was silent. Danny sighed, rubbing his temples. "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"Explanation: The slugs are dead and with them my only entertainment. And since my Master has forbidden to kill you, that's all I can do now."

"You are quite blunt," Danny commented.

"Statement: That's how I was programmed to respond. Question: Where are you going?"

"Well, I've got a prisoner before coming here. She is on my ship and I intend to have a conversation with her."

"Giddy statement: Oh, interrogations? I love interrogations! Especially long ones, when the captives resist, and yet are screaming from pain when I rip out their..."

"Alright, stop that. You already made it too graphical."

"Mockery: What, your fleshy stomach can't stand it?"

"No, simply memories about the people I want to kill, nevermind," Danny mumbled, before going further.

Phantom didn't get why someone would need such a bloodthirsty droid. Sure, you can expect him to complete every extermination order, but he could once day misinterpret your commands and do something you will regret later.

For some reason Danny decided to practice non portal teleportation in that moment. He thought about the bridge of the ship and dissappeared in a cloud of smoke. Well, he did manage to teleport there. Everyone, besides the droids, jumped in surprise at his sudden appearance. Danny grinned, it will never get old. But Phantom felt weird, and he soon understood why.

"Sir!" The soldiers stood still. Danny nodded and their stances relaxed.

"Ensign," he called. She came closer to him. "The station won't attack, you can board it without worries."

"Understood. Uhm, sir, what happened to your hand?"

Danny quirked an eyebrow, before looking at his arms. On his left hand a pointing finger got...separated from the rest of his body. Danny shrugged, it was painless anyway.

"Don't worry, it will grow in a few days. Proceed with boarding for now."

Phantom turned around and walked out of the bridge. Using the familiar corridors, Danny first visited his room, before going to the prison ring. When he approached the needed cell, Komand was doing such an entertaining thing as staring at the metal walls. Not like she had anything to do anyway. Danny shifted on his legs awkwardly, before knocking on the wall slightly. Komand turned her head and looked at him. She didn't show it, but she was wary of him, Danny felt as such.

He smiled slightly. "Hey there."

She didn't respond. Phantom let out a sigh, as his lips formed a thin line. Not from annoyance or exasperation, but because he didn't know where to start and he hadn't planned the conversation beforehand. Thankfully, he got the topic for conversation when he heard her stomach grumble.

"Food wasn't brought yet?" Danny asked.

Komand shook her head. "For a few days," she said.

Phantom's look became confused. He remembered giving an order, he will look into it later. Inwardly taking a deep cautious breath, Danny opened the door and stepped inside. Now he wasn't the only one confused here.

"Well, it's good I brought some," Danny smiled nervously, showing a bowl with fruits and rubbing the back of his neck. "I...well...I wanted to apologize for my behavior before. I'm sorry for that."

Komand looked at him weirdly. "I tried to kill you and yet you are the one asking for forgiveness?" She asked in bewilderment.

"You simply couldn't kill me," Phantom argued and Komand's look turned into glare. "I'm not saying you are weak. You just didn't know my race's anatomy and that your attempts to choke me were pointless. Look," sighing, he sat nearby on a metal bed. "I may be a lot of things, but I'm not someone who enjoys seeing people suffer. Mostly. You are not one of the few who tortured me in the past, so I don't have anything against you. I just have...mental problems, and I'm really sorry that you are the one who had to see me like that."

Komand looked like she wanted to say something, but instead she took some apple-like purple fruit and bit on it.

"You are a weird one," she commented after that. "Do you know that?"

"If only I got a nickel every time I heard that," Danny smirked, glad to turn to something more positive.

Ignoring his comment about unknown currency, Komand looked up from the floor and on him. "You want me to say this, don't you?" She deadpanned.

Danny grinned toothily. "That will be appreciated."

"Fine, you are forgiven," Komand rolled her eyes, biting on the fruit again.

A silence settled after that. Neither knew how to continue the conversation, and honestly, Komand was too busy with eating, and Danny didn't want to interrupt her, she obviously was hungry. Finally, once she finished, Komand leaned against the wall and sighed.

"How did you do that?" she asked.

"Did what?" Danny raised a confused eyebrow.

"When we fought, you made that green shield and sword, you also shot blaster bolts from your hands. How did you do that?"

Phantom smirked. "Ah, that's what you mean. I already told you, didn't I? I'm afraid that that is what only my kind can do, as for HOW we can do that, well, we manipulate energy around and inside of us to do such things. But, both you and I can use the Force and I know more than any 'sorcerer' ever will. I'm actually curious about what you were taught and what you can do."

"You already saw lighting and moving objects. That's basically all."

Phantom snorted. "Seriously? That's all?"

"And what's wrong with that?" She crossed her hands.

"Because, my dear, that's basics even Sith acolytes can do. Actually, even they were taught more."

"And what exactly?"

Danny smirked inwardly, standing up on his feet. He caught her interest. "Well, starting from the simple mind trick. Wave your hand and weak minded people will do your bidding. Will suppression is a more advanced form of mind trick. Few can resist it. That's what every Force user, no matter how weak they are, can do. But you are not one of them, Komand. The Force is strong with you, and you can go much further than in services to this rotten empire."

"Are...are you offering me to betray everyone I know?"

"Depends on who you will go against. Who exactly are that 'everyone'? Your teachers who don't let you discover your potential? Or maybe fellow sorcerers? You didn't seem to bother with that oaf's death."

"Hodor was annoying. Couldn't even build a normal sentence."

"So you are loyal to them. Admirable. But, one simple question - are they? They hadn't even attempted to communicate with you, and I would know, we are overhearing all the transmissions. How can that be considered a loyalty? I am warning you against repeating my mistake. I used to protect people, I was loyal to the populace of my city, too, foolishly believing that the feeling was mutual. It wasn't. And to where it led? To the vivisection table. Even if your end might be different, the fact remains. Do not help people who look at you upside down, because you will never receive any gratitude for what you do. I'm helping the poor slaves because they don't do that. They don't have anyone else to go to, because their masters treat them like dirt. I can rely on them and I trust them. Because despite my power to destroy armies, I treat them as equals, making the trust mutual."

Komand rubbed her hands uncomfortably. Because Danny was right, but the fact that he was speaking the truth didn't make it easier. On the contrary, it made things even more complicated.

"I...I just can't go against my family!" She exclaimed exasperated, standing up as well. "We served the empire for generations! And you are offering me to just fight them?!"

Danny's expression remained calm as he put his hands behind his back. He hid his curiosity under this mask. "So that's what all of this about? I see..."

"No, you don't see! Stop pretending to know everything!" She shouted into his face. "You don't know me!"

"You are right," he said, actually surprising her, "I don't know you, but that's why I ask. I never said I know everything. Knowing everything is the same thing as knowing nothing. This rule has only one exception, and I'm not him."

"UGH!" Komand exclaimed.

'Why should he be so unbearably righteous?!' She yelled mentally.

She sat back on the bed with a thud, glaring at her captor, whose expression was unreadable. Danny sighed, moving a chair using the Force and sat in front of her.

"I understand this, Komand," he said quietly. "I understand that your family is very important to you. And I don't think I will be able to feel the same way towards mine, now when my sister is gone, and my friend and love of my life killed by my parents in a crossfire. I hate my parents. One day I will return home and finish what I failed to do last time. But they are only two people. I am not going to make you kill or in any way harm your relatives, I'm not a Sith. Just join us, I will teach you what I can, and then you will be free to do whatever you want."

Komand didn't respond and looked away again. Sighing, Danny got on his feet and started to walk out of the cell.

"W-wait!" Komand suddenly called, and Phantom stopped in a doorway, turning around and leaning against the wall. "Are you being serious about what you said?"

"Yes, I am."

"Then I don't have any choice but to join you," she said a bit bitterly.

"There is always a choice. It's just not always obvious," Danny smiled. "We will start your trainings when everyone is sleeping, so no one will freak out. When we are not training, read this."

Phantom took out the datapad and handed it to his newly proclaimed apprentice. It consisted a copy of one of the books he found back on Tython. It was essential for her education. Yes, he himself was but a learner, but compared to Komand, who barely was on a level of Padawan, he was a Master. Thanks to the knowledge Bogan and Ashla put into his mind. Danny wasn't the one to lose his chance, so he better start as soon as possible, or he will lose this golden opportunity. And yes, he translated the entire book for her. He really needed a hobby.

-Later-

When no one was looking, it wasn't hard to pick a proper place for trainings, especially on a few miles long ship. It was mostly empty on the inside, though, and served the purpose of space for more weapons on the outside. Danny picked that huge room under the command bridge. It looked like the damage caused by his Ghostly wail was repaired. Phantom led Komand there, avoiding the rebels who wanted some water in the middle of the 'night'.

Meditation was probably the most boring part of the training. Seriously, all you do is sitting on one place without a permission to marvel the beautiful landscapes, or in the current situation - walls surrounding you. And when you aren't the most patient one, like in Komand's case, it can turn into a few hours of boredom.

"Uh, I don't see how this should help me," she muttered.

They had been like that for who knows how long.

Danny, who was sitting in front of her, opened his eyes and looked at his apprentice, smiling. "The Force isn't a physical object you can take and put on shelf. It's an energy, and you must have a way to grasp it. That's what meditation is for. You won't be able to use the Force properly if you don't have a way to interact with it. You have a connection, all you need is to open up to it. Try again and remember, both sides must be present inside of you..."

"And don't let one overweight another," Komand rolled her eyes. "You said that hundred times before."

"And I'll say it again if needed," Danny said seriously. "The Dark Side has a strong influence. The Je'daii don't ward it away, but they don't embrace it either. We must be cautious, because we are exposed to it as no one else, since we are using it and all," he waved his hand slowly and shrugged. His childishness will remain with him even when he will turn thousand years old.

"Try again, we are in no hurry," Phantom smiled again.

"Alright," Komand said not so enthusiastically.

She closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh.

Danny meanwhile observed her curiously. Yes, she may be impatient, but he wasn't the one to tell her that. He himself wasn't the best example. He meditated because he didn't have anything better to do in his free time. But he wasn't worried. The Dark Side seemed so powerful because it is granted almost by a snap of the fingers, while it is a long way to achieve the same amount of power while following the Light. Yet, there is the fact that he was the only one who could teach her anything.

Suddenly he felt something and it made him smile wider.

"Good job, keep it up," Phantom encouraged quietly.

Komand sighed deeply again, shifting slightly on her place. She felt weird, it was nothing like she was being taught before. It was like something pummeled through her like a powerful stream. Komand opened her eyes and gasped.

"What happened?" She asked in bewilderment.

"Just as I suspected," Danny mumbled, tapping on his chin. "Tell me, haven't you gone through some 'trials' or 'rituals'?"

"We drank some liquid during initiation. No one told us what is this thing."

"Hm, it seems like this liquid somehow kept your potential at bay. This 'barrier' was weakened by me and a simple meditation was enough to break it. The question is, why you drank that stuff. Another confirmation of my theory, don't you think so?"

Suddenly Danny grinned evilly. "Now let's get to the bigger fun."


	12. Chapter XII: Questionable servant

Danny smiled fondly at the fleet floating in the vacuum of space. During the last month the Foundry built ten Harrowers, twenty five warships of Terminus-class, and eight Gage transports. All of the ships were filled not only with droid crew, but also filled to the maximum of their carrying capabilities with soldiers. The droids were copies of HK-47, but they were dark gray in color and had bright blue visors. Their tactical and logical capabilities were breakthrough, but HK could break them all with no effort, since, again, they were mere copies of him.

Returning to the matter of ships, this fleet wasn't enough for an open fight against all odds. But he could be a powerful asset, which could bring victory. Because no armor plating or powerful shields could protect from a guy who could teleport right inside, blow up generators with a flick of the hand, and escape from a downed ship. That was IF he will engage in an open fight. They will be able to jump wherever they wanted, while the yuths couldn't. Because, unlike them, Phantom's fleet also had astromechs among their crew.

Why one month? Because the empire would find out everything by then and undoubtedly will send the fleet, especially if the admiral will be persistent enough. Danny received a message a few days ago, the imperial probe arrived in the system. They had to hurry, because the second it becomes operational on the planet's orbit, the yuths will come. Danny wondered how big portal he could make. It needed to be a few miles in diameter, he never made it bigger than himself.

'But is this plan worth it?' Danny thought, putting a hand on his chin and sitting on a chair.

The chair in his room was positioned rather pompously. If he turns around on his chair and with his back turned to the table, he would face a huge window.

Danny felt something nuzzle against his another hand. Phantom looked down and, seeing his little pet, smiled softly.

"Hey, Alva, missed me?"

The fluffy creature cooed and tapped with its hooked beak on his hand. Understanding the gesture, Danny put the bird on her favorite nesting place - namely his messy and soft hair. He didn't actually mind, everything she did was sleeping up there. She hadn't yet developed her razor sharp talons yet, so it didn't hurt her master. Flapping her small wings, Alva moved his snowy locks, making an improvised pillow, before curling in a ball and sitting down.

Danny smiled at that, before taking out a datapad without any target in mind. Play tetris maybe, wait, there wasn't any tetris. With a deadpan expression Danny tossed it away on a table. Suddenly his ghost sense went off, and it pointed right behind him. Danny winced slightly. He knew what this conversation will be about. Turning on his chair, Phantom saw the same mysterious ghost.

"Hello there," he smiled and let out an uneasy laugh.

"You forgot about my request, didn't you?"

Danny sighed. "Sorry pal, kinda forgot. Well, you are here know, what did you want to talk about?"

Then the ghost noticed something. "Is this a bird in your hair?"

"Yep. Alva, say hi."

The hawk chirped from her seat and put her hand under fluffy wing again. The ghost hummed.

'This boy seems quite talented. His bond with the bird is strong.' He thought.

"Dude, are you there?" Danny snapped his fingers in front of his face. The ghost snapped out of his thoughts and turned at him. "You spaced out for a moment."

"My apologies, I just thought about something."

"Don't worry about it. Wait, I don't like to talk like that. Have a seat."

The ghost sat in front of him. "There is something what interests me. Who taught you how to use the Force? You denied being a Sith, and I doubt that the Jedi would let someone so potentially dangerous wander around."

"I'm not dangerous," Danny grumbled, before remembering what he did with GIW. "On the other hand, yes, I am. Well, starting from the beginning, I found a few books on Tython, plus learned one thing here, another one there...Do you have any, by the way?"

"How am I supposed to hold them?"

Danny chuckled nervously, "Until my arrival on that planet I was largely unnoticed by the order. Did you feel the disturbance? It was me, I caused it by simply walking around."

"Hm, it has something to do with you being a ghost, hasn't it?"

"I think so. Since I have an ability to interact with physical plane, and yet one with the Force, it causes paradox, I guess. I'd like to research it when all of this is over."

"That's another thing. You said that you want to destroy the empire. Let's suggest it happens. What will happen then? Joining the Republic?"

"No," Danny got up from his chair. "I see it only as a small step towards greater achievements."

"You want to conquer the galaxy," the ghost shook his head. "Should have known."

"Do I look like a power hungry Sith? I don't think so. Because I'm not doing it for power, I am doing it for them. For those suffering all across our galaxy. This is my ideal. The powerful and invincible Empire under the rule of benevolent Emperor."

"You speak about benevolence. But what about the Republic? You expect it to surrender peacefully?"

"I don't want wars. Republic does not control everything, I'll just take what no one does and build everything from scratch. AND create armada in case the senators try something funny. Or simply to fight off pirates and other scum of the world. I just want to make the world better."

"And here comes the most common excuse," the ghost muttered. "Boy, things are not going to be that simple."

Danny looked at the endless void of space. "You think I don't know that?" He whispered, turning back to him. "Things never were simple for me," Phantom said louder. "I would have simply starved to death at the age of four if not for my now dead sister. Simply because my parents didn't give a shit about me. I got used to losses, and I don't want people out there to be like me!" He gestured out of the window. "You thought the same thing at the time, didn't you, Revan?"

"Took you long enough to figure out," Revan responded.

"I had suspicions since the beginning. Unless that was another HK-47, there was only one person he could call 'Master'."

Revan sighed deeply. "Yes, I shared your point of view, Phantom. But look where it got me. Being corrupted by the Emperor, memory wipe, three centuries of tortures, and that's only a few ones. I never even got the chance to see my son. All I ever saw is his holoimage."

"I'm sorry," Danny said sadly.

"Don't be."

"Look, Revan, the world has changed during your staying here. I don't need the Dark side to call the people under my banner, like Malak or Tenebrae did. You had a month to observe what my soldiers think about me. Have you ever saw them bow or kneel to me? I'll lead them to victory and then, if they won't want me as their leader after that, then I'll go without resistance. I could just go to their capital, kill the empress and usurp the throne. But I didn't. This people need to believe in something. They were slaves, tools for the richer people. They MUST believe in their strength. And I will help them unravel it."

Under his mask, Revan smiled slightly. He spoke like a true leader. And he sensed how the light inside of the ghost teen seemed to pulsate. He could understand why people followed the one who was much younger than them. Looking at Danny, Revan remembered himself from his younger days, when he lead the Republic towards the victory against Mandalorians. But still, such a darkness deep below the surface was concerning. He himself was a follower of balance, but falling to the Dark side was unpredictable.

Just as the thought crossed Revan's mind, Danny carefully took Alva from his head and put her in her improvised nest made of grass, giving the bird a gentle stroke. Yes, the main threat to the galaxy, no less.

"Daniel, I understand your intentions. They are most noble. But you must always remember about the thin line you can easily overstep."

"I see that. You are worried about me being corrupted? Believe me, it is not going to happen. I saw what the future will be like if I turn to the dark. I almost did, but I was given a second chance in life. I promised to my loved ones that I won't let them down, and I always keep my promises."

"That's the answer I hoped for."

"And what are you going to do? Tell me the secrets of the Force?"

"No, the Force tells me that you must go this path by yourself. Plus, you just got an apprentice, it will be rather strange if I teach you as well."

"I get it," Danny mumbled. "Oh, well. I'm immortal, why should I hurry right?" He laughed.

"Very well, I'll get going, then."

With that the Jedi Master and the Sith Lord disappeared, leaving the ghost teen alone.

-Later-

"No, no, no, don't put it there!" Danny shouted to the droid, who was carrying a box. "Blasters must be in another pile. These are for grenades."

The droid nodded and moved the box where needed. Phantom's attention was caught by another droid, when the transport almost drove him over.

"Hey, watch where you are going!" He exclaimed. "Ugh, you are putting blasters to grenades AGAIN! Listen once and for all, THIS pile is for GRENADES. THAT one for BLASTERS," he pointed towards the pile five steps away. "There are markings, read them, for Ancent's sake!"

'On rare occasions like this I want Box Ghost to be here.'

"Having fun?"

Phantom saw Revan standing near him, before Danny's face twisted in deadpan expression. "If you mean commanding stupid droids then yes, I have fun. Imperial droids are useless for anything except pressing on a trigger. I would have done something, but I'm a hereditary engineer, not a programmer."

"Hm, I hope you don't mind taking aboard another droid?"

Before Danny could ask what did he mean, they both heard familiar high voice.

"Query: You called me, Master?" HK came closer to them.

"Yes, HK, I have a request. I want you to depart with Phantom."

"Question: WHAT?!" The droid yelled.

Danny only blinked in surprise. "Uhm, what?" He then asked carefully.

Revan sighed. "HK, I appreciate your unwavering loyalty to me. But I can see that you are bored here. That's not what I created you for. Daniel, on the other hand, is fighting in a war. Surely you wouldn't want to miss the opportunity."

"Constatation: Yes, I haven't killed someone worthy enough for a long while."

"Stop, wait a minute," Danny interrupted. "You are offering me to take aboard someone who wishes my death?"

"Statement: A very long and painful death," HK added, obviously not pleased with his master's decision. Danny wasn't sure how to react to that.

"Well, this is easily fixed. HK, this boy is now your master."

Phantom's jaw hit the floor. And if the droid had one, he would have as well.

"Exclamation: You can't do that, master!"

'Should have known about that,' Revan thought. "HK, this isn't a punishment you think it is. This is a reward for your loyalty. I don't want to hold you back here and waste your potential."

"No one asked me," Danny grumbled.

"Mockery: You think MY opinion counted?! Defeated statement: I'll complete your command, Master."

"Thank you, my friend," Revan patted his metal shoulder with a smile. "Come visit once in a while."

"Statement: Of course, Master."

Danny chuckled quietly under his nose. This droid was really dedicated to his creator. Poor Frankenstein, his creation killed its creator, unlike HK. And honestly, Phantom could use such a skillful warrior. The ghost teen stepped forward.

"You can leave whenever you want," Danny offered, before smirking. "But you wouldn't want to miss killing a few squadrons of soldiers, would you?"

"Excited statement: Then what are we waiting for?" HK exclaimed. "I'll go pack my possessions."

With that the droid went to his armory.

"Should I be worried that he talks about murders like a kid on Christmas morning?" Danny asked sarcastically.

"I don't know what Christmas is, but you don't need to worry. You are now his Master, he physically can't harm you or go against your commands. But. I want you to treat him with respect he deserves." Revan said seriously.

Danny smiled. "Sure thing."

Revan looked at Phantom's ship on the distance. "You stole this dreadnought from your enemies, right?"

"Yes. I hoped to catch the owner, but it was a trap. The trap didn't work, but the ship is mine nevertheless."

"I see. Does it have a name?"

"Uhm, no, it is a prototype, and saying its code name is a bit weird. I have and idea, though. How about...Hyperion?"

"What?" Revan asked confused, making Danny facepalm.

"Flames, I keep forgetting that it isn't my homeworld. Well, the name comes from one of the ancient religions on my planet. Hyperion is a Titan, one of those who ruled before the Gods. He is a father of Helios - the God of sun, Selene, the Goddess of moon, and Eos, the goddess of dawn."

"Hm, so you named your ship after the father of stars?"

"That's not what I meant. The stars in Greek mythology have own legends. Sun is sun, stars are stars, they are different things there."

"Still, the name seems rather fitting."

"Hyperion it is, then."

-Later-

The fleet was taking the required position for hyperspace jump. Phantom came up with an idea of the effective command. He split the fleet in four parts, each was commanded by his duplicate or himself. Since they shared consciousness, then messages could be passed literally in a blink, without any chance of interceptions. It could turn the tide of battle, and every movement will be strictly organized and smooth, since every 'commander' knew what to do. However, it had cons, namely that everything relied on his and only his tactical thinking. However, it wasn't required for now.

"Sir, what are your orders?" The ensign asked.

The doors suddenly swung open and HK walked into the room.

"Statement: That room you put me in is quite empty."

"Just that? No greeting at all?" Danny said, faking his hurt feelings. "Well, decorate it as you please, it is still bigger than your quarters on Ebon Hawk."

"Statement: It is disturbing that you seem to know too much about me, and I don't have a way to kill you."

While the rebel soldiers looked confused, Phantom burst laughing. "Oh, well, you'll have plenty of time."

Danny hummed in thought, tapping on his chin. Before he could say something, the bridge communicator started to beep.

"Put through the image, for starters," Phantom said.

The call was from Valorrum, and Haseas' hologram appeared in front of the commander's seat.

"Hey, boss, we have bad news and even worse news. Which one do you want first?"

"Start from bad one," Phantom said without enthusiasm.

"Well...Scaball escaped into the jungle. Apparently we didn't count that he has allies. Luckily it was only him, others are still under guard."

"Scaball is irrelevant. Our deal with the admiral went straight under cat's tail. If you see him, shoot without warning. Don't send people into the forest, no need to waste our time on him. Just stay on guard as always. What is the second problem?"

"The beacon reached the destination. We have only about two hours till they arrive."

Sighing deeply, Danny lied back in the seat. Everyone waited for their leader's decision. Because there is no way...

"Prepare the planetary defences. Any means can be useful. Evacuate people underground. If not bombardment, then falling ships might destroy large parts of the city."

"Question: Why bother with those useless meatbags? If you waste your time for evacuation then there will be less to rally defences."

Everyone looked at HK. And while the ensign and Haseas glared at the droid, Danny's expression remained neutral. "Haseas, how many people we have, again?"

"Well, now we have about fifty thousand men and women."

"Order the civilians to go underground wherever they can. We can't do anything more, the planet is not prepared for this kind of situations at all."

"We have only one ion cannon, how are we supposed to defend ourselves?"

"Simple. We will be there."

Everyone blinked.

"Uh..."

Danny only grinned widely. "Be ready when we come."

With that the transmission was over. Phantom got up and walked to the illuminator, putting a hand on his chin.

"Statement: The fleet is not fast enough to reach the opposite end of the galaxy in such short time. In fact, no ship is capable of such a speed," HK noted.

"I wonder how big it can be," Danny murmured instead of answering.

He closed his eyes and raised his hand. Then it started to crack with green electricity. Everyone watched with marvel how a small dot appeared ahead, but then kept expanding, meter by meter. First it became as big and wide as starfighter, then as corvette. When it became the size of cruiser, Phantom broke the silence.

"Gage and Terminus ships, go inside!" He shouted.

If ghosts could sweat, his clean clothes would have been all wet. His face scrutinized in effort and he leaned on the railing for support. The ensign immediately contacted the other ships and they followed the command, flying through the portal. Phantom kept expanding the portal, and then the dreadnoughts followed. Finally, Hyperion was the last one to go on the other side. The second they exited the portal, Danny nearly collapsed as it closed behind them. The ensign helped her leader to shakily stand on his feet.

"Bewildered statement: What just happened?!" HK asked.

Danny let out a dry chuckle after being situated on his chair. "I can tear down the fabric of space and shorten the time of travel to seconds. I never tried making it THAT big. I'm dried as lemon, however. Now, when we are back at our lovely planet, we can decide what to do next."

"You already have something in mind, don't you sir?"

Phantom grinned tiredly, tilting his head to his assistant. "You got that right."


	13. Chapter XIII: Protecting the stronghold

"Let me get this straight. You moved an entire fleet..."

"Aha."

"Through the entire galaxy in seconds."

"You are completely right, dear Haseas," Danny grinned, biting on a fruit.

He needed to restore his energy. They had little time before the enemy fleet arrives, but he still was casually eating. Phantom already ordered the fleet to take positions. Since he didn't know about the size of the upcoming enemy forces, but he knew from where they will arrive, he decided to set a trap. The enemy didn't know about his fleet as well, so every ship he got could become a trump card if he used them properly. Danny already moved the fleet in required positions.

"This is freaking nuts," the orange skinned man shook his head.

"What makes you say this?" Danny asked confused, making another bite.

"If there is an entire race of space tearing beings than I don't know how to feel about this."

Phantom laughed. "Well, you can relax, then. There are only two besides me who can do that. However, they never made portals THAT big."

"Sir!" Ensign interrupted their conversation. "The imperial fleet is entering the system."

"Haseas, you know what to do. Transmission is over."

Phantom turned off the communicator, stood up and walked to the illuminator. He had to move the chair closer later.

A few seconds later several ships emerged from hyperspace. Some were similar in design as Hyperion, but smaller. Some had triangle shape, just like star destroyers, but their bridges weren't high in the air, and were instead right on the deck. They had fewer ships than Phantom, twice less, but they were still heavily armed. Even while having an advantage in numbers, you must avoid any losses.

Danny's attention was caught by one cruiser in particular. He narrowed his eyes.

"Their flagship is that one," he pointed out.

"How do you know that, sir?" The ensign asked confused.

"Statement: My old Master was able to learn where his enemies were," everyone turned to HK. Man, he loved making sudden appearances. "It's not surprising that my new Master can do the same."

"HK, is right. I feel that their admiral is right there. Now let's wait for him to step into our little trap," Phantom smirked.

"Question: What exactly this trap means?"

"Haven't you noticed where we are positioned? They think we only have Hyperion, so they will attempt to use all their might without giving too much thought. Even go in a passageway between the planet and its moon, which is too close to it by the way. Three hundred spartans beated hundreds of persians while being in a narrow canyon."

"Objection: But this is space, not a canyon."

"Yes, it isn't. But what we need is our ships' destructive capabilities. My duplicates will know just the moment. Another part of our fleet will lock them from behind and open fire. The starfighters will fly above the moon and attack them from the top. This way we will prevent theirs from attacking us, they will be too busy protecting their own ships."

"That's...amazing," the ensign said in awe.

"Nothing amazing here, I simply want to win. Now, HK, I have an assignment for you, follow me."

The droid followed his Master out of the bridge. The two used the elevator and got to the lower floors. HK was curious about what Phantom had in mind. In his calculations of possible options he hadn't noticed how they got where needed. Danny was smirking all the way, from what he learned about the droid, he was going to like his assignment.

"Question: What exactly are you intending to do?"

"Simple, I want you two to infiltrate their flagship."

"Confusion: Two of us?"

"Got that right, tin can."

HK turned around. Komand was leaning against the wall. During the last month as Phantom's apprentice she shortened her hair so it only reached her neck, and changed her wardrobe. Danny threw her old robes in vacuum. They were smelly and unfitting for fights. The Foundry actually could make clothes. That's why he ordered a new set of robes for her. They weren't robes in typical meaning, more like spacey one piece suit made from the same soft material. Danny thought that a long clothing or any robes at all will only be a bother.

"Objection: TIN CAN?! How dare you, a pathetic combination of carbon elements, insult me?!"

"Enough," Danny interrupted before things turned ugly. "I don't need you to kill each other before you even start your assignment."

"We don't even know what the assignment is," Komand deadpanned.

"Simple. The admiral knows a lot of secrets we can use. Plus, if their fleet loses its leader in a middle of the fight, the victory will be ours."

"Question: Can I..."

"Kill whoever you want but NOT the admiral," Danny interrupted.

"Excited statement: Thank you, Master, I'll go pick the heaviest gun."

"Meet with me in hangers," Danny nodded.

HK ran out of the room, earning a chuckle from Phantom.

"I don't see how some droid should help me," Komand shook her head.

"This isn't the first time HK killed the entire crew," Danny shrugged, earning a surprised look from his apprentice. "It was four thousand years ago. This droid is the most talented assassin in the galaxy."

"If he is so good, then why do you need me to assist him?"

"What, jealous?" Danny smirked, before laughing at her expression. "I just want to see the result of all your trainings. And, after you show on which side you are on, you won't need to stay in your cell at daytime. Seems tempting, doesn't it?" He smiled.

"I can't even hold blaster, or you want me only to use the Force?"

"Nope."

Phantom took out the lightsaber and handed it to her, earning a shocked look. "Even if it is technically now mine, you better use it right now. Why do you think I trained you in lightsaber combat as well?"

"Thank you," Komand said, taking the weapon and situating it on her belt. "I will not fail."

Danny smiled softly. "I know you won't. Let's go, now."

The two walked down to the hangers, and on the way Komand got a question.

"Why don't you want to go as well?" She asked. "You can make clones, right?"

"Again, it's your task, Komand. Also, that fast travel really exhausted my core. All I can do are small portals for you to go there and return."

"Core?" She stopped abruptly. "Are you..."

Danny rolled his eyes. "If I am a droid, then how can I use the Force? Komand, my race doesn't have hearts. We have cores, from where we take our energy to exist. In order to 'charge' it, we have to eat, have you noticed that I never drank water? It's useless to us. In our world we don't eat at all, the air itself is full of energy we require."

"Your race is strange."

"Huh, you telling me," Danny snorted.

Together they were in hangers, where pilots, organic and droids alike, were preparing for departure. They waited for HK to arrive. He soon joined them, carrying an entire minigun in his arms, bazooka and rifle on his back, different grenades on his belt. Both Force users watched this with bewilderment. In his defense, minigun was rather small for its type. It didn't have a huge ammo pack, for obvious reasons. It was rather compact.

"Uh, don't you think it's TOO heavy?" Danny asked carefully.

"Clarification: I want to make sure no meatbag escapes my wrath."

"Just don't blow me up," Komand deadpanned.

"Eerie statement: I give no promises."

If HK had facial expressions, he would have had a creepy smirk on his face.

"Again I shall repeat myself. DO NOT kill each other. Anyways, I'll make a portal straight to the flagship. Wait here. When the portal opens here, go through it, when you are done, call me and I'll take you back."

"Got it."

Danny nodded and walked out of the hanger. He then simply flew through the walls and returned to the bridge. From his position he noticed that the opponent fleet was almost in shooting range.

"Sir, we are receiving a transmission from the enemy," the droid told him.

"Put it through."

A hologram of the admiral appeared. He was wearing the same ridiculous clothes as before, and looked rather smug.

"Well, well, if it's not our little thief," the old man smirked.

"If a little thief stole the secret prototype ship, then what a big one can do? I'm afraid to imagine." Danny rolled his eyes.

"A big laser on my creation won't give you anything, boy..."

"Oh, I have completely forgotten about it, thanks for reminder!" Phantom grinned.

The admiral facepalmed. "How an immature kid like you managed to rally all that scumbags is beyond me."

"Hm, maybe you should stop calling them like that and they stop following teens with mental issues? Anyways, is there a reason behind your call, or you just wanted to brag that yours is bigger than mine?"

"Ugh, you are unbearable. Surrender now, my orders are to bring you in the capital. The empress herself wants to see you personally. I don't know why bother with such a piece of..."

"Ah, language, there are kids here," Danny pointed at himself. "The only way I'll visit a capital is when I'll take it by storm, old man. I'm not going to surrender."

"Well, more fun for me, then. Prepare to die, brat."

Danny only grinned. "Am I not already?" He huffed, before ending the transmission. "Droid, how far can the laser shoot?"

"It is twice further than average turbolaser. But our shields must be turned off."

"Hm, do we have time to turn them back on before they get in firing range?"

"Yes, sir."

"Then shoot at the biggest ship they got."

The droids didn't question his orders. They started pressing buttons and pulling switches. Why would they need so much buttons for just shooting from big gun? It gave some dramatical and cinematic effect, but it was a waste of time. Well, Danny was an expert in ecto-engineering, he didn't know a thing about space ships. It's not like he attended some dedicated academy.

The front deck started to glow as the massive amount of energy was being concentrated in it. Then, with final pull of the switch, a massive beam of energy erupted from it. Danny covered his eyes from the bright light, just as every living being on the ship. When the laser reached its destination, it simply cut the cruiser in half, and even reached the ones behind it, and shutting five ships off. Phantom grinned once he saw the damage one shot did.

The enemy increased his speed, trying to reach the rebels as soon as possible. That was just what Danny wanted his opponent to do. To increase the speed he would have to lower the shields or turn off the cannons. Either way it was on hand to the white haired ghost. He was disappointed, however, that they slowed down once being closer. So the admiral was not a complete moron. It made the game more interesting.

Finally, they reached the required point. And as the original Phantom noticed that, both his duplicates did as well. The one who was commanding the fleet behind the moon got the message.

"Starfighters and bombers in the air!" He commanded.

At his order an enormous swarm of small ships flew out of multiple hangers. Most of them were small starfighters the times of Old Sith Empire. They were largely unprotected, they didn't have shielding, or hyperdrives. It was typical Imperial tactic. They made a huge amount of cheap fighters, compensating with numbers what they lacked in strength.

The swarm flew around the small red moon. It took the imperials by surprise, and the first wave managed to land a big damage with minor losses. The next attack wasn't that successful. The admiral didn't lose his temper, he moved corvettes between the bigger ships and the moon from where the starfighters were attacking. The corvettes were valued for their speed, maneuverability and small weaponry to stand against the starfighters.

The old yuth also send the attacking ships of his own. The fleet itself now had a form of one narrow line made of several smaller ones. First three lines consisted corvettes positioned in checkers form, forming a wall which prevented most of the ships from coming through. Other lines were made of bigger ships. Phantom decided against using the laser again, it will completely drain Hyperion's energy. Instead he concentrated the fire of turbolasers on the corvettes, attempting to create an opening for the starfighters, who meanwhile engaged in dogfight right in fire range of corvettes.

It didn't mean that the imperials were just waiting for the enemy to finish them. They unleashed their power on Hyperion, so Phantom had to transfer the energy from the engines and unneeded weaponry to strengthen the shields. He knew that they couldn't hold back the attacks forever. So, Phantom ordered to close the trap. The ships hidden behind the moon started to move as fast as possible. And, Danny also decided that it was the best moment for a diversion.

He opened the portal in the hangers, which was a signal for Komand and HK. The Jeda'ii apprentice and the assassin droid went through.

"Alright, droid, you have a map downloaded in you, right?" She asked once they were on the other side.

"Affirmative: Master has acquired the blueprints of this ship. I know where the bridge is, follow me, meatbag."

Despite HK's insult, Komand didn't say anything and just followed the droid. However, they didn't make a step out of supposed...janitory, maybe, when passing patrol found them. So much for being unnoticed. They immediately started shooting, but Komand used the Force push to pin the small squad of ten men into the wall. HK didn't waste time and swiftly turned them into pieces of burned flash with his heavy weapon. The sound of minigun and screams of pain and horror were hard to ignore, and even more troops came into the narrow corridor. Komand activated the lightsaber and started to deflect the upcoming fire, while HK stood behind her.

HK took out a thermal detonator from his belt, pressed a small button and threw it in the crowd. They ducked out of the way, but some unlucky ones were blown in pieces. This let the diversants to continue their way. In one jump Komand got to the troops and killed them. After that they kept moving, eliminating every soldier on their way. The only 'injury' they received was a dent on HK's corpus. Not relevant.

"Why do you think Phantom didn't make that portal closer to the bridge?" Komand asked.

Even though she was now his apprentice, the young woman refused to call Danny her Master. He wasn't persistent, saying that it was simply an old tradition he was not going to judge her for.

"Explanation: Master obviously wished to test your abilities. If he simply transported us to the admiral than you wouldn't have to kill so many useless meatbags."

"Yeah, I guess you are right. How long it is until we reach the...bridge..."

They weren't on command deck, that's for sure. Instead they were in a huge room with multiple generators, which coils sparkled with dangerously looking electricity.

"Why. Are we here?" Komand said slowly.

"Explanation: I want to blow up them all. For this task I have bombs of my own creation."

HK took some explosives out of nowhere. They looked like small boxes with wires sticking out of it.

"Statement: Plant this one on that coil. I'll take care of another ones."

Komand nodded and took one of the boxes. HK briefly explained how to prepare it. She ran to the furthest generator and planted the bomb on it. HK meanwhile did the same thing with remaining generators.

After they finished, the diversants continued their way up. Thankfully they weren't far away. All they needed to do is to use the elevator. Then it stuck and the lights turned off. Komand groaned.

"Just perfect."

Back on Hyperion Phantom wasn't having the best time. The shields were about to be shut down under the fire. He called for his duplicate, and saw that they were about to fire about...now.

The attack from behind was successful. The rain of red turbolasers poured with unstoppable stream. The first to blow up were some corvettes, which didn't stand a chance. Finally receiving an opening they needed, the starfighters flew straight to the cruisers behind the corvettes.

The imperials started to regroup, they couldn't let the enemy continuously shoot them in back. Original Danny sighed in relief. His ship started to emmit smoke in different places. He had already sent fire extinguishers' brigade to fix the problem. Hyperion substained some serious damage, and it was only a temporary break. Phantom knew that once he regroups, his opponent would attempt to escape. And the easiest way for that would be going through him, since he was alone.

"Come on, guys, you can do that," Danny mumbled, looking at holographic projection of the battlefield.

Meanwhile Komand and her droid companion broke through the final defenses. When they approached the door, it was locked.

"Ah, curses, any ideas how to get through?" Komand asked.

"Statement: I would have offered to hack into their systems..." HK took out a bazooka, before turning around and firing.

A massive explosion blew up the elevator behind them, in order to prevent anyone from escaping. "...But I don't think Master gave us that much time. Use your weapon to cut a hole in that door."

Komand nodded and turned on the lightsaber. She stabbed it through the door. She slowly moved it in circle, leaving an orange trace of molten metal behind. Finally, when the circle was done, Komand looked back at her companion.

"Prepare your weapon, they will wait for us."

"Sarcastic question: What makes you think I'm not ready?" HK asked, spinning his minigun.

Rolling her eyes, Komand pushed the metal piece using the force, probably hitting the fellow behind it, if a loud scream was any indication.

However, once they entered the room, Komand's eyes widened.

"Father?!" She exclaimed.

"Komand?" The admiral asked, equally shocked. The soldiers lowered their weapons at his motion. "It...was you down there?"

"I-I didn't know you are the one who commands here!"

"Realization: Oh...I can see what's going on."

"You see what's going on?!" Komand yelled at the droid, turning to him. "Why didn't you or Phantom told me anything that it was my father who he is fighting against?!"

"I'll tell you why, my daughter," the admiral said, stepping forward. "Because he is an alien. How many times were you told that you can't trust any race except ours? I don't know what he told to convert you on his side, but I'm ready to forgive you, and no one in the empire will know about it."

"I...I don't know..." Komand mumbled, turning off the lightsaber.

"Statement: This fleet is about to be destroyed, your offers are pointless. My Master ordered your capture. Consider this an act of mercy."

"I'd rather die with my ship than being imprisoned by some prepubescent boy!"

Suddenly the entire ship shook from impact. The rebel starfighters were doing their job rather well, the shields were gone.

"Threatening statement: You either come with us or die in a fire. Or I can just slaughter your goons and drag you away from here."

"Komand, why are you letting this droid say such things?" The admiral asked.

"Father...please, come with me. I don't want you to die here. Your honor may not let you surrender, but...do it for me, please. I already lost my brother and mother, I don't want to lose you too," she begged.

Komand had a huge lump in her throat, she didn't want anything to happen with him. As a sign of her intentions she threw away the lightsaber.

The admiral's face scrutinized in thought. With a sigh, he dropped his blaster as well.

"I'm going. My soldiers will go with me."

HK used his inner communicator, "Report: Master, our job is done, but there is an extra bargain."

This phrase earned the droid multiple glares, but he didn't care what meatbags thought about him.

"Good," Danny's voice sounded from another end and everyone heard it. "What kind of 'bargain' exactly?"

"Question: Shall we bring extra soldiers or you wish to execute them?"

"Hm...they must leave weapons behind. Hurry up, though, I don't control every ship."

To everyone's surprise a green tear appeared in the air.

"Statement: You heard him, meatbags. Move inside and drop your weapons."

The soldiers did as was told with dropped heads. The admiral was the last one to enter, giving a glance at his daughter. Komand sighed sadly.

"Phantom has some explaining to do," she growled, using the Force to grab the lightsaber.

"Threatening statement: I'll kill you if Master says so."

"I'll see what you will do about that, tin can."

With that she entered the portal and the droid followed. The portal led directly towards the bridge of Hyperion. Phantom's back was turned to them as he watched the battle outside.

"Admirable job, Komand, most impressive," he turned around with a wide grin, clapping his hands and coming closer. "And right on time, I must say."

Suddenly Komand turned on the lightsaber and pointed it at his throat.

"Stand down," Danny ordered, raising his hand. All droids and people did as was told. "Is there a reason for such harsh reaction?"

"Why didn't you TELL ME?!" She exclaimed loudly.

"Tell you what?" Phantom asked genuinely confused.

"That you want me to hunt down my own father! You promised me that you won't force me to harm my family! Yet the FIRST your task was against what you said!"

"I don't have any idea what you are talking about...Wait, that guy is your father?!" He asked shocked.

"Don't pretend like you didn't know, scum," the old man rolled his eyes.

"Yes, he IS my father, Phantom," Komand spat. "And YOU lied to me!"

Danny narrowed his neon green eyes. Then he slowly wrapped his hand around the lightsaber. It whizzed, whined and sparkled with red electricity - the color of the energy blade. Phantom moved it away from his throat.

"Are you implying that I didn't hold my promise?"

"What else can I imply?"

Danny's look kept becoming darker. "I promised to my friends and family that I'll never use my power to kill all life on my planet. I still hold it, despite my desire to do so sometimes. Now, my friends are dead and my parents are the ones who killed them. And, my promise remains intact. I NEVER break my promises. I didn't know that your father is the admiral. I wouldn't have done that if I knew. But, that surely changes things. No harm will come to him. I can get my information painlessly, even if he isn't willing to cooperate."

"We'll see about that," the admiral grumbled, before being taken away after a hand gesture from white haired leader.

Phantom sensed a huge conflict in his apprentice. Komand looked out of the window as the last remnants of her father's fleet were being obliterated. A small gentle smile appeared on Danny's previously serious face.

"Komand," Danny said. "I honestly didn't mean it to go that way. I will fully understand if you decide to leave us. I won't stand on your way."

Her head snapped in his direction. "What?" She asked in shock.

"I taught you a lot. Now you probably can more than the most powerful Force users of the empire. You can return to the capital and advance in ranks with rapid speed. I won't stand on your way."

"But what about my father?"

"I'd like to let him go, but he is too dangerous to let him go. I'll be honest, after receiving an information I would have killed him. Now, I'll let him go when he won't present any threat, meaning that it will last till the end of campaign. He put up quite a fight, I'm getting reports about lost ships, he destroyed one sixth of our fleet while being surrounded, having disadvantage in numbers and taken by surprise. You must be proud."

Komand raised her eyebrow, "He is your enemy, and you praise him?"

"I admire strong opponents," Danny shrugged. "It's wrong not to admit enemies' abilities."

"I'll go for a walk," she whispered.

Komand walked away, leaving lightsaber behind. Then HK approached his Master.

"Query: Do you want to press this button?" He handed Danny a detonator.

"What is this?"

"Question: So you don't want to?"

With a deadpan expression Phantom pressed the button and the enemy flagship exploded.

"Defeated statement: I so wanted to do that.


	14. Chapter XIV: Alea iacta est

The capital world of the Yuthanean Empire—which was imaginatively called Yuthan Prime—was a rather nice planet. Their race was born millennia ago in the thick jungles of their planet. Evolution was a tricky thing; yuths hadn't developed claws or fur, or something like that. Yes, they had a few extra organs on the inside, but on the outside their orange skin was the only thing which differentiated them from the human race.

But the thick jungles were part of the past. About ninety percent of the planet's land territories were covered in growing city. It had a long way to becoming an ecumenopolis; seas and oceans were still present, and the city wasn't yet growing below the surface. But, they were definitely going towards it. The city's population had grown many times ever since their race discovered space travel. It may sound paradoxical, because, well, where were colonists supposed to come from?

The answer was slavery. Medieval societies, or even those who were in informational age, couldn't stand against even the race which just discovered hyperspace tech. And the Yuthanean rulers knew that. Their natural arrogance just added more cruelty to their greed for power. So, many slaves were captured and delivered straight to the richest people of their nation. It always reminded Danny of the Roman Empire, and if it was just like the empire of the past, then it inevitably would painfully die the same way.

"Where do I find eastern barbarians, though?" Danny murmured, rubbing his chin.

Yes, Unknown Regions had a lot of dangers inside of them, but nope, no Hunns, Francs or Sarmats.

"Question: Why do we need to make useless meat bags even more useless by giving them pieces of metal instead of blasters?" HK's voice was heard from an earpiece communicator.

"Damn, I thought I turned that stupid thing off."

"Explanation: Radio silence is unnecessary, Master. No moron will ever think that you are conversing right from their capital."

"I guess you are right. How the other groups are doing?"

"Report: The first group tasked with infiltrating planet shielding generators remains unnoticed. Other groups are yet to finish their jobs."

"I wouldn't have been so harsh on them. We aren't in any hurry. Inform me when they are done. Signing off."

Danny turned off the communicator and looked at the city below from the skyscraper he was on. The fight over Valorrum was three months ago. During that time a single revolt turned out in a full blown civil war. Apparently, such an impressive victory served as the final spark which blew up the state's foundation. The Yuthanean Empire possessed thirty two inhabited systems in total—extremely tiny compared to the Galactic Republic, which had control over thousands of systems. However, its sworn enemy - the Chiss Accendancy, had twenty eight inhabited planets.

Phantom was the official leader of the Rebellion, and his face was on every illegal agitation poster. His personal favorite was when he awesomely stood in profile with a lightsaber in his hand, with a word 'Resist' under the image. Again, some part of him still possessed that childish excitement.

Of course there were posters which had another word under his picture: the ones where his face had 'Wanted' under it. The Imperials wanted him dead, and it was the reason of Danny's inner laughs. They pictured him as a satirical demon, who wanted to eat their babies. Ooh, how scary. But it also had a positive effect, never mind how paradoxical that sounded. The citizens of the empire feared him, so they were surprised in the times they actually saw him.

-Flashback-

The victory was theirs, that much was undoubted. The governor was killed; the remaining army was either fleeing or surrendering. And the smoking cityscape was rather symbolic. Phantom gazed out of the window, putting hands behind his back. Yes, they won, but with far more losses than he wanted. All because of crappy surveillance. They reported only about the squads out on the streets, not the ones in barracks and hangers.

However, all those deaths seemed to antagonize the crowd even more. And they seemed to go to the living district. Phantom's glowing eyes dangerously narrowed. That was NOT part of his plan.

"Hey, boss!" Haseas called with a grin on his face. "Don't want to join the celebration?"

Phantom's head snapped in his direction. "If THIS is what you call 'celebration' then I'll pass," he gestured out of the window.

Haseas looked out of the window. "No, I wanted to offer you some drinks from the governor's basement," he deadpanned.

"Pacify them, then! I don't need them to destroy the entire city and people in it!"

"Wait, are you offering..."

"Shoot in the air for starters. Warn them. If they keep going, kill the feistiest."

Haseas' eyes widened, but he didn't have time to say anything, before Phantom disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

The crowd kept barging into people's homes with torches, vibropikes and blaster pistols; the last two were taken from the downed policemen, and torches were easy to make. The civilians attempted to escape from the burning homes and the uncontrolled crowd. Not many succeeded, including one family in particular.

"No, stop it!" The mother cried, trying to keep her crying toddler away from the gruff alien who was robbing the house along with five others. "Why are you doing this? We haven't done anything!"

"You all are going to pay! We had enough of your filthy rule."

The rough skinned alien approached the woman, but he didn't make it. Instead he saw a crimson glowing blade under his chin.

"I highly recommend you to get as far as you can from here," Phantom growled menacingly.

His neon green eyes shone even brighter than his lightsaber. And this glowing sent shivers down everyone's spines. Another thing was that his hair seemed to flow, yet there wasn't any wind.

"P-Phantom!" The alien exclaimed. "Y-you are the head of Rebellion! Why do you protect this scu...!"

"Finish this word and you will become a few inches shorter. Get lost and leave these people alone."

The slaves looked baffled, but the image of furious ghost was enough to make most of them leave. The one who was threatened, however, seemed to have a huge grudge. He stayed, along with two others.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said.

Phantom's look became amused, before looking at the assaulted mother. Without bothering with the attacker, he kneeled closer and reached for the baby. Despite the mother's whimpers, he closed the baby's eyes with two of his fingers.

"This isn't a sight for children," he whispered.

Suddenly Danny leaped on his legs and slashed the lightsaber. The attacker's head rolled down on the floor with a thud. The others stared at the display with wide eyes, horror evident inside of them.

"I won't repeat again. Get. Lost."

This time the message was clear. The rioting slaves ran outside. Phantom turned of his weapon, spun it in his hand and situated it on his belt. Danny turned to the woman and kneeled again.

"Go hide somewhere. It isn't safe to be here."

The woman nodded frantically.

"I will...thank you."

Danny smiled, before walking outside. The crowd was moving his way, but when the ones in front noticed him, they stopped. The ones behind kept going, so there was one way to stop that massacre.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Phantom yelled. He used a bit of his Ghostly Wail just to make himself loud enough for everyone to hear. When he got everyone's attention, he continued speaking.

"I give you one last chance to stop this pointless rampage. If you do not comply and don't stop peacefully, we'll be forced to turn our weapons against you. Make a wise decision. There is enough blood for one day."

The crowd seemed to contemplate Phantom's offer. The tales of his power were inspiring indeed, but only when it was turned against their oppressors. When it was a threat to them, it wasn't a very nice feeling.

"Well? Drop your weapons and stop this disgusting chaos. Otherwise,"—he turned on the lightsaber—"you will know what I'm like when I'm pissed off."

His voice gained a loud echo, and his hair started to flow again. A lot of people did as told, because they saw how easily he beat the legion of elite soldiers. They didn't stand a chance.

"Tell me how all of this makes you better than your oppressors?" Phantom asked. "You are doing the exact same thing! Is this what you wanted? Well, then our interests go different paths, and you stand across mine, meaning that you are becoming my enemy. You saw what I do with my enemies; do you wish to share the same fate?"

This phrase had a magical effect on the crowd. Sometimes fear was the best weapon, Danny came to realize.

-End of Flashback-

As a true leader he personally led his soldiers to fight in many ground battles. And many were inspired by that image. Imagine a shining warrior, who stands in front of the troops and alone fights off the entire squadrons without getting a scratch. When he all but swipes his hand, the enemy soldiers are thrown around like ragdolls. It lifted battle spirits when they knew that this warrior was on their side and was fighting for their freedom. And most of the Imperials now understood what to do when they saw the rebel army with a stark haired teen in charge: run. To Danny's amusement, many of his men and women considered him some kind of demigod or even a full-fledged god, even though never saying it into his face. He never encouraged the rumors, but neither had he denied them.

The space battles were another story.

After the Battle over Valorrum, Phantom knew that he needed more ships. Most of the time he relented to hit-and-run tactics. His ships were equipped with astromech droids, which could set every course without the need of beacons. So they attacked the weak squadrons, squashed them and immediately left before the reinforcements could reach them. The beacons were either eliminated on sight or used for traps. He moved the beacon to an asteroid field or simply prepared his own fleet to greet his enemies.

The biggest mistake of the empire was that they kept their fleet at bays on planetary surfaces, completely not caring that the ones who were forced to repair the ships were the same people who were the majority of the Rebels. And Phantom didn't wait long to expose this weakness. He sent his agents to the labor camps, where they encouraged the slaves to revolt and helped them to succeed. That's how they made their fleet bigger: by taking what belonged to the enemy and using improved hyperspace calculations.

Danny's face filled with confidence as he looked towards his destination: The Imperial Palace. His job was simple, maybe even ridiculously so, but at the same time it was symbolical. He would kill the head of the state and the entire Empire would be in disarray. Everything would fall like dominoes. Why he was sure that the Empress was there? The Imperials weren't expecting something so daring to happen. To attack the capital which had an enormously sized defense fleet would require a madman in charge.

It would be a sight to see, Phantom was sure of that. A hundred ships on each side were no joke. That day the sky was going to burn. It was everything they got; he gambled a very big price, so he better not to lose.

His musings were interrupted when he felt someone behind him.

"Yes?" Danny responded, his hand slowly reaching for his weapon.

"Hey, Phantom," Komand said uncertainly, as she stepped out of the shadows.

Danny was surprised. She hadn't spoken with him ever since he captured her father. The trainings were an exception, but even then it didn't go further than short questions and equally short answers. She spent most of the time with her Dad ever since no one had objections about her walking around the ship freely. He trusted her, but HK was always not so far, turning on his hearing modules to the maximum. They weren't planning anything, and that was enough for the ghost teen.

As for tonight's mission, she wasn't intended to be involved in it.

"Komand?" He voiced his surprise. "How did you find me?"

The young yuth smirked slightly. "That's what you taught me, right?"

"Yeah..." Both remained in silence. "Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to ask...don't risk your neck much."

"That's all?" Danny blinked.

Her look turned annoyed as she crossed her hands. "What, not good enough for our local demigod in the flesh?"

"There is nothing divine about me," Phantom grumbled. "You couldn't just take a ship, fly through all security checks only to tell me to watch myself. It's not like you to state the obvious."

Komand's orange skin reddened in frustration. "Alright! I'm...concerned."

"About what?" Danny asked confused.

"About you, idiot!" Komand snapped.

The ghost's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't heard such words in a long while. Ever since he lost everything and everyone he cared about, no one said it to him. And for her to get to the capital and find him, it felt really nice, even despite rather...harsh voicing of her concerns.

"Why?" he mouthed.

"Ugh, I'm just worried. Is that not enough?"

Danny smiled brightly. "No, that's more than enough. Thank you."

Komand noticed something unusual about his smile. It seemed more sincere than any smile he gave her before. And that confused the young yuth. Was it really so bad that he was grateful for her rude choice of words?

While she was thinking, Danny was again looking at the city. The binary sunset looked very captivating.

"I guess I'll go," Komand mumbled, starting to walk away.

"To where?" Danny asked, glancing back. "All our ships are on their way here, Hyperion included."

She stopped abruptly. "You mean your ship?! But what about..."

"Relax,"—Phantom waved his hand—"He is not there...actually, you know what? How about you go with me?"

"Why?"

"Well, we worked on everything, but never fought as a team we are supposed to be, as a Master and Apprentice. And now we have a wonderful opportunity." Danny gave her all familiar mischievous grin.

Komand sighed. "You just have to bring me in trouble," she grumbled.

"But for some reason you haven't left yet," Phantom kept grinning.

His hand reached for the lightsaber. Danny took it and threw it to the young woman, who easily caught the weapon. His look turned amused.

"You seem to use it more than me," he commented.

"Apparently so," Komand smirked slightly, accepting the weapon. "Ready to bet I take down more, snow head?"

"You are so in it...damn, I haven't thought up a nickname yet."

They both burst in a fit of laughter, until they were interrupted by the beeping communicator. Danny put a finger on his ear.

"Yes?"

"Report: All units are on their positions, Master. It is time."

"Understood, proceed according to plan. Signing off."

Danny smiled at his apprentice and nodded in direction of the palace. "Ready to move on?"

"How are you going to get there?" Komand raised her eyebrow. "It must be too well protected."

It was rather complicated matter. Pompous leaders needed pompous palaces. And the 'divine' rulers of the empire needed to be above common folk, both literally and figuratively. Their residence was enormous; it was a tall building with many sharp edged towers, which made it look a bit like a gothic Catholic Church. It spanned a few square kilometers, including the royal gardens. The main problem was that the amount of guards was equal to the military base, and in order to get there the rebels had to pass security.

Looking at his apprentice, Danny grinned while gesturing forward. And Komand didn't like it at all.

"Ladies first," he invited.

"What do you...AH!"

With a gentle move Phantom pushed her over the edge of the building, before jumping down himself with a loud laughter.

"ARE YOU NUTS?!" Komand yelled on their way down. "WE GONNA TURN INTO A PUDDLE DOWN THERE!"

Phantom calmly got in lying position and put his hands behind his head. He glanced down at the approaching ground.

"Well, there is still a considerable distance," he said calmly. "Take my hand."

"HOW IS THIS GOING TO HELP?!"

"Trust me," Danny smiled.

Well it's not like she had any choice for the matter. Komand did as he told and closed her eyes. Suddenly she felt like they stopped. When Komand opened her eyes, she saw that they indeed stopped about two hundred meters in the air.

"Told ya," Phantom said smugly.

Komand moved her shocked gaze from the air between them and solid metal pavement. She looked at the stark haired ghost, before her stare moved below his belt.

"Where are your legs?!" the apprentice exclaimed.

Danny chuckled. "It's just my spectral tail; gives extra speed and agility during the flight."

"You. Can. Fly?"

"Yep. Seems rather obvious, huh?"

"H-how?! It's...it's impossible! You don't even have any wings to fly!"

Her expression was something between shock, awe and curiosity. Komand accidentally let go of Danny and yelped in surprise. Phantom quickly caught her by wrapping his hands around her waist. Needless to say that both Phantom and Komand blushed brightly, green and red respectively.

"Anyways," Danny broke the awkward silence. "Let's get going already. Give me a moment."

Phantom closed his eyes and his pearly white aura spread over the female yuth. Komand felt like she weighted nothing.

"Okay, just relax now, let me guide the flight and don't let go of my hand."

Komand nodded slowly, still trying to comprehend the fact that Phantom was FLYING, for goodness sake!

'I guess I shouldn't be surprised,' she thought. 'When did ANYTHING seem logical about him?'

They flew for some time, and it felt different from flying in a car or ship. There she was locked inside the machine, while here she was completely free...well, as free as she could move while holding Phantom's hand. She blinked. Alright, that was quickly becoming awkward. She was snapped out from her musings by Danny's cough.

"So, how do you think we should enter? Secretly or just bang into their doors?"

"I don't know. What do you offer?"

"The last one is more entertaining, but there is a big possibility that the Empress is going to run away. If we intend to go secretly, there should be entire ruling council. Still, I have taken precautions in case she attempts to run."

"And how are you going to go through?"

"Again, either we break through the doors or through the wall."

"Let's not make it more complicated, then."

With a nod, Phantom descended the bottom of the large staircase which led towards the entrance. He pulled on the hood of his robes in order to avoid instant recognition. Together they walked up towards huge doors which stood on their way. However, as Danny expected, a group of soldiers greeted them. They were wearing white plastoid armor with open spiked helmets, kinda like the ones officers wore in German Empire. They were armed with vibroswords on belts and blasters in their hands. There were seven of them, three in front and the other four standing behind and to the left and right from the Force users.

"Halt right there, no one is allowed inside without permission!" the guard with orange markings on his helmet said.

Phantom grin was the only visible feature under the hood. He looked up and everyone saw his gleaming green eyes, which could belong to only one person. Before they could react, Danny raised his hand and gripped three soldiers, before using the Force to throw them into the marble column, and the impact caused some debris to fall on them. Komand activated the lightsaber and deflected blaster bolts which were directed at Danny's back, before throwing a weapon at the nearest guard. Danny made a small shield on his palm and defended from another shot. He charged an ectoblast in his free hand and fired, creating a small explosion which killed the guard.

Komand jumped towards the enemy, pulling the lightsaber from the corpse by making it fly into her hand, before she caught it in the midflight and cut the opponent in half. Only one was left standing, but when Danny attempted to fire, another blaster bolt hit him in the back of his head. Komand blinked, before looking at her grinning Master. Danny only pointed at the rooftop of the palace with his thumb finger, crossing his hands. The yuth glanced where he was pointing, and noticed a person with sniper rifle, who also gave thumbs up.

"Have you thought that I was going to go alone?" Danny asked with a raised eyebrow.

"How did he get in there?" Komand tilted her head.

"We smuggled the weapons in, sent my men under disguise of simple servants, and voilà, I get fire support from the high ground," Phantom explained and shrugged, before opening the doors with a wave of his hand.

They were in an oversized hall, which was just a vestibule. By the schematics Phantom had previously acquired, the council chambers should be not so far away. The two would have gone to the required room, but the destiny had another plans.

"Seems like we are not alone," Danny commented quietly, with amusement clear in his voice.

Komand felt the foreign presence too. Multiple ones.

Sure enough, from behind the columns stepped about fifteen people, dressed in the same clothes Komand once wore. Black and red robes, boney masks. Everyone wore them, except one in front. Their supposed leader wasn't wearing the mask. The male yuth had the hood down as well, giving a look at his face. He was old, with gray long and carefully attended beard. He had dark red and yellow sith eyes, which emitted a faint glow. The Dark side was dominant inside of that guy.

"Have you seriously thought that everything would be so simple?" the man asked.

Danny shrugged, taking off the hood. "The only simple thing I ever saw was fruitloops with milk. Though, I should give you credit for being patient. How long were you waiting for us there?"

"As long as required. And you brought a traitor with you. Wonderful, saves time tracking down all of you."

Komand glared at him as her hand started to move to the lightsaber. But one glance from Danny told her to keep her fiery temper under control. Phantom looked back at the man and crossed his hands.

"Who are you anyway?" he asked. "Some big nut obviously."

"My name is no concern of yours, scum. I am the Grand Master of Imperial Academy of Sorc..."

The man was interrupted by a laughter Danny tried to keep inside, but was miserably failing, as the air was getting through his teeth.

"What's so funny?!" The Grand Master growled.

"I've never heard so ridiculous name; better call it 'Magical school of Witchcraft and Wizardry', suits you well, you look like Gandalf anyway." Danny said with a grin, making Komand facepalm in frustration. Her Master was such a kid sometimes.

"Enough talk! Kill them both," the old man ordered, making a step back.

His followers took out their weapons—Force enchanted swords. Those couldn't just be cut through with a lightsaber. They started to approach, cutting off any retreat possibility. Phantom examined his nails, while Komand was carefully looking for any opening in the Grand Master's defense.

"Hey, Komand, remember what I showed you a week ago?" Danny kept looking at his nails, even though he was wearing gloves. He was still giving occasional bored glances at the wannabe siths.

Komand raised her eyebrow, recalling what they did a week ago. Then her eyes widened in realization.

"You aren't going to do that again, right?" she asked hopefully.

"Not on you, but we will see. For now, let's see who takes out more."

As they stood back to back, both Force Users smirked unknowingly to each other. Komand turned on the lightsaber and took the battle stance, fit for her current form of lightsaber combat. She held the weapon on her eye level with two hands, using the Shii-cho form. It was the first ever form created. It was primitive for learners, but a few who learned it to perfection or/and used it at the same time with another form were excellent duelists. Darth Nihilus was beaten that way, and that said something. Danny taught her this form first for another reason. It was the form Jedi Younglings learned because of how simple the styles' basics were.

Phantom himself used it too, but only when he was fighting with his ectosword, like back at Valorrum. When handling a lightsaber he stuck to the second form—Makashi. It was perfect for deflecting blaster bolts and had some magical grace about it that Danny came to like. Of course, he now had knowledge about every style, but that didn't mean that he had skill to fight all of them. It also amused him that all the styles' names sounded like something from anime, oh well.

The Imperials attacked together. Phantom made a sword to deflect the upcoming strike, before kicking another one with his leg, pushing him away. He jumped over his opponent and attacked him from behind. The man moved the sword behind and blocked the hit, before turning around and making a slash. Danny became intangible and let another sword pass through him. He elbowed another opponent, before charging a blast and shooting at another one. Then Phantom turned his legs into a spectral tail, swinging it under enemy's legs and making him stumble. His legs returned as he stabbed his opponent in gut.

Komand used the Force to zap them with electricity. She used the opportunity to attack and kill two zapped opponents. She parried the hit from another one and deflected the storm of multiple attacks coming from her opponents. Her fighting form allowed her to effectively fight several of them. Komand blocked another hit and then noticed that she was being surrounded. She made a step back, moving away the lightsaber, and making the enemy stumble forward because of inertia. She then used the Force push to break the encirclement. The apprentice grinned in satisfaction at her display.

Meanwhile Phantom ducked under enemy's swing and noticed another approaching attack. With a smirk, he vanished. The imperials were confused. And worried. He could be anywhere for all they knew. Suddenly one of the sorcerers stabbed the nearest comrade, much to their shock. He took off the mask, revealing a face with glowing green eyes and Phantom's mark wide grin.

"Surprise!" Danny's voice sounded from the man's mouth, before he attacked again.

The imperials didn't know what to do at first. Phantom was possessing their comrade's body. And he was intending to exploit this confusion. He fought even more fiercely. The scholars didn't have other choice; Danny had slaughtered a few of them already. To their further surprise, he wasn't resisting that much, but still managed to fight them off and even kill three of them. Finally, one of them managed to stab him. The man's eyes stopped glowing as his dead body went numb.

They didn't have time to cheer, though. Phantom reappeared behind one of them and easily snapped the sorcerer's neck. The opponents were now less enthusiastic about fighting him.

One of the sorcerers used his pathetic level of Force use to throw rocks at her, but Komand jumped away and graced between the projectiles. After cutting one of the stones in half, she threw her lightsaber at the other approaching attacker. He deflected the throw, but his swing was averted because of the impact. The lightsaber flew back into Komand's hand, before she shot lighting out of her fingertips. It was more powerful than before, and the progress she was making made her excited.

Suddenly Komand felt a strong pressure on her neck. She found it hard to breathe as she fell on her knees.

"Foolish girl," the Grand Master growled, slowly approaching her with outstretched hand. He was choking her.

"You preferred to side with alien scum just so you can get the power you don't deserve. You could ascend in ranks, in service of the Empress. I highly doubt that, though; you always lacked the skill. Now die, traitor!"

When he was about to finish her, the Grand Master suddenly was lifted in the air and lost his concentration. Phantom held him by his neck, and he looked terrifying. His hair was a raging white inferno, and his green eyes gained a crimson red tint in them. But it wasn't even the most fearsome thing; it was his look, the look which clearly stated that the old man was about to die in the most painful way imaginable. Komand looked up at them and her eyes widened too.

"Enough games," Phantom said in low voice. "Tell me where your empress is at once."

If they knew that he would be coming, the empress should be as far as she could get.

"Like I'll tell you anything!" The old man spat.

"Oh, you underestimate my persuasive abilities. One step closer and your boss will lose his head!" Danny warned the remaining imperials. They stopped on their tracks.

"Fools, kill him now!" The Grand Master commanded.

Phantom glanced at the sorcerers, daring them to do that. They dared. But as the imperials made a few steps they screamed in pain, before falling dead.

"My, even my second heart didn't save them when the first blew up," Phantom commented, before dropping the terrified man on the ground. "Now I give you a chance to tell me what you know willingly."

"She is gone!" He exclaimed, hoping not to repeat the fate of his subordinates. "For two years already!"

"I beg your pardon?"

"She is dead. The council hid the information about her; she didn't have a heir, so the ruling council ran the country after she passed away."

"If so, where is that council?"

"They ran who could where. I don't know."

"Hm...Thank you for the information."

Phantom raised his hand and used the Force to snap the old man's neck. He turned to his apprentice, and Komand had a look of horror on her face. His eyes turned green and the fire settled down and turned back to the messy white hair. Danny looked down on the ground uncomfortably.

"Sorry you had to witness me like that." He sighed. "This is something I don't have control over."

"Why...were you like that?" Komand asked.

Danny ran a hand through his hair. "Obsession. I didn't have a problem with this before, but now... When someone harms people I care about, I lose control and can do nasty things."

Komand blinked. "What do you mean?" she asked slowly, getting back on her feet.

"We are friends, right?" Danny smiled hopefully.

"I guess we are," Komand responded.

Suddenly she was hugged by the white haired ghost, much to her surprise.

"Thank you," he whispered, before letting go of his apprentice. "And it seems I won," Danny then added with a playful smirk.

Komand rolled her eyes, but smiled nevertheless. His abrupt changes of mood were something she got used to already.

"So, what now?" she asked.

"Well, we will hunt down that council, but I wonder..."

Danny walked towards the huge doors and Komand followed him. Phantom opened the doors and entered the apparent throne room.

It was just as huge as the hall, but it looked much better. There was a wide glass path over seemingly endless pit leading to the circle in another end of the room. A huge golden throne stood there; it had several reliefs on it and was reaching for the ceiling. Something caught Danny's eye.

"What is this?"

He walked to the throne and looked at what looked like golden laurel wreath, with different small jewels on each leaf. It was carefully situated on a pillow, which was lying on the throne's seat.

Komand's eyes widened in shock. "This is the Crown of the Empire!" She whispered in awe. "Can I hold it?"

Danny shrugged. "Sure, go ahead," he said, giving her the crown.

Phantom put a hand on his communicator.

"HK, what's the situation?" He asked, while Komand was too busy.

"...DIE, YOU ORGANIC TRAAASH!" HK was yelling from another end, accompanied by loud sounds of unstoppable shooting. "Report: We managed to break through the blockade and land troops. I'm not aware about the current situation in space. We are pushing through, but they obviously aren't afraid for their future birth rates. Good riddance, but there is just too many of them."

"Where are you?"

"Answer: Northern industrial sector. We make quite a noise...SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND FIRE! Anyways, we are easy to spot. Better bring reinforcements."

Danny looked at the crown in Komand's hands. "I think we won't need any," he smirked. "Signing off."

The apprentice was examining it thoroughly. "They say there is a leaf for every system we have. Then one leaf is missing," she commented.

Danny snorted, taking the crown. "If it was truth then there would have been only one leaf."

"Phantom..."

"Yes?"

"What are you going to do after this?"

"Is this an invitation for a date?"

"NO!" She exclaimed and reddened in embarrassment. "I'm asking what you are planning to do after you win."

Danny grinned mysteriously. "Now that's rather convenient question." He outstretched his hand. "And you are about to get your answers."

Komand reluctantly took his hand. The second she did that, they got teleported to another end of the planet. Her eyes widened in shock.

"You don't need portals anymore?"

"Nope," Danny popped a 'p', before hearing explosions on the distance and seeing lines of smoke, "Okay, I mistook directions a bit."

They teleported closer, and this time they could see the battlefield below. Two sides were shooting at each other from their improvised barricades in different ends of the small square. And by the looks of it, the rebels were losing. It was time for Phantom to intervene.

"Komand, go help our forces. I'm not exactly sure if the imperials are going to do as I say."

The dark haired woman nodded, before running towards the rebel positions.

Meanwhile Danny flew in the air, right between two opposite fronts, still invisible.

"Enough!" His booming voice was heard over blaster and vehicle fire.

For a moment, everything stopped. Everyone just looked to where the voice came from. Phantom slowly descended towards the ground, and the setting suns right behind his back truly gave him the divine appearance people attributed to him. His flight also scared and awed the imperials and the rebels respectively. Phantom turned towards the imperial soldiers.

"Dear protectors of the Empire, I admire your dedication. To fight the winning enemy when you are on the wrong side...it requires a lot of loyalty. But you weren't fighting for what you thought was right. You were fighting for what certain individuals wanted. You were deceived all along, and I'm going to declare it so everyone hears that. The Empress is dead!"

There weren't any fitting words to describe the expressions on the people's faces. Shock, terror, disbelief were the closest definitions. But many weren't convinced to surrender, Phantom felt it. It was time for the final blow.

"I see that you don't believe me. Well, here is your proof!"

He took the crown from his robes and threw it. The crown rolled on the ground for some time, and every eye was glued to the main relic of the dying Empire, which was reduced to the level of trash.

"You say that your rulers got their power from the gods, and yet, here we are. Some call me a god. They may call me however they want, but I HAVE killed someone who ascended to the throne thanks to them. I didn't see anything happen. Why don't they strike upon me if the empress was their ruler of mortals? Maybe they didn't want anything to do with her and her dynasty anymore? And speaking of dynasty, tell me, who are you going to serve now? She had no heirs, and who will be daring enough to take her position? You? Or maybe you?" He randomly pointed towards different soldiers. "I don't think so."

"Of course, the nobles will say that they are worthy. But what did they do in their pathetic lives? They inherited their parents' wealth and titles and haven't moved a single finger to gain it. They led your country to DEFEATS. Because of their leadership you have lost to Skii-ruu, you have lost to the Chiss Ascendancy, you have lost to the people of your own country. It says something, isn't it? Me, the seventeen years old, managed to lead the humiliated and hopeless crowd to victory over stellar state with own trained army, with own fleet and armored vehicles."

"I do not seek the destruction of this country. No, I want it to prosper, I want it to become the respected and feared Empire as it once was! But with no corrupt noble families and companies! With no oppression of the weak, where people shall no longer fear the laser whip, where only our enemies will bow and kneel before us! You may hate and despise me; I can accept it, because the feeling isn't mutual. I offer you exactly what you fight for, but the nobles only gave you promises. You can see what the former slaves have achieved under my leadership; imagine what can become of the entire state. So I ask you one final question! Will you follow us to the glorious future or remain in past, where the wind of time erases you from history?"

The leader of the Imperial forces stood up in his cover, with blaster in his hands. He climbed on top of the barricade, before jumping down and approaching the stark haired ghost. The man didn't waver under his intense gaze, and, once close enough, dropped the weapon under Phantom's feet, before hitting his chest with his fist.

"For the Empire!" The leader shouted.

Phantom smiled, before hitting his own chest. He then turned to his own men.

"General Haseas, will the Rebellion still follow?" he asked loudly.

From the crowd of rebels, Haseas stepped forward and turned to the crowd.

"You heard him, Rebellion, will you follow?" he asked the same question.

The rebels loudly cheered and shouted.

"Will you fight?"

This phrase earned even more excited yells of support.

"Will we triumph?"

The sound of cheers was becoming deafening.

"Then stand for your leader! Your liberator! YOUR EMPEROR!" Haseas yelled over excited shouts of the crowd, unleashing the sword from its sheath and raising it in the air.

The shouts weren't coming only from the rebels; some imperials stood too and loudly cheered. Phantom smiled softly as his shining eyes filled with fierce determination. People trusted him with their lives and he wasn't going to let them down.

But unknowingly to him, in the shadows stood a person in purple robes, with a clock staff in his hands. A small smile crossed his features.

"Good luck on your way, Daniel. It shall be an amusing parade to watch," he commented, before disappearing from view.


	15. Chapter XV: Friends in high circles

Most of the land forces of the Empire on Yuthan Prime either pledged their allegiance to the Emperor or surrendered. And now the tables had turned. Much fewer numbers of troops were forced into hiding, which wasn't so hard in a city taking up almost an entire planet. That's why Phantom was glad that being a ghost saved him from getting a migraine, because it was quite a headache squashing them one by one. What an irony. Now he was the unrecognized ruler of the empire, and so the former soldiers became rebels in need of elimination.

The golden throne under him was shaky as Japan. Of course, the lack of direct heirs left the remaining nobles without many options. But the old nobility wasn't the entire country's population. Many people still hated him, and seeing the ghost on the throne only added more oil to the fire. One wrong step—which his enemies would ultimately exploit—and Phantom would be on receiving end of rebellion. There was one way to deal with the feistiest people: execution. But, it would only make them martyrs. No, it required a more careful approach, and Danny came up with a wonderful solution at the beginning of civil war.

-Flashback-

"Remind me, why did I set up the meeting in this hellhole?" Danny asked.

"Answer: Because you didn't want anyone to interrupt us and chose the planet where no one will search for us. Also, our cooperators seem to have sensitive eyes," HK responded, looking at the river of magma below.

Apparently, meeting in the molten world was a mistake.

"It was a rhetorical question."

"Question: What is that?"

"A question I don't need anyone to answer because I already know it."

"Confusion: Then why ask it in the first place?"

"I...I don't know. To blow off some steam, I guess."

"Statement: You don't emit steam."

"That's a form of speech...nevermind."

HK perked up and looked at the sky. His visors detected movements behind the clouds. "Statement: Their ship is approaching."

"I can see that."

"Question: Was that sentence rhetorical?"

Danny groaned and face palmed. "You are doing this on purpose, don't you?" he muttered.

"Gleeful statement: Hehe, maybe."

Rather soon, one ship flew through the smoke clouds and started to descend, sending gusts of air around and making Danny's cloak neatly flow. It had a spiky design and was rather big; it was obvious, considering who was piloting the ship. Then the trap opened and the aliens walked out of it.

Ssi-ruu looked a lot like Velociraptors. The only thing which made them look different from the Earth dinosaurs were two forked "tongues" that emerged from their nostrils. They walked on two powerful hind legs, with balance attained by a muscular tail along with two upper limbs that sported three prehensile claws. All in all there were five of them. Four had crimson red scales, while the last one possessed blue colored scales. It was obviously the one in charge. The leader stepped forward while the rest kept their strange blasters ready. HK was eyeing their weapons; he wanted one of those.

"You are the one they call 'Phantom'?" The reptile asked in series of squawks, tweets and whistles.

"Statement: I don't think I can translate that, Master. And your throat cannot possibly..."

"Yes, it's me," Danny responded in their language, to everyone's surprise, including the ssi-ruuk. Heck, even Danny was stunned at how weird he sounded. He didn't have a throat, so he didn't have any biological limitations. The blue scaled reptile recovered from his surprise.

"The Elders' Council agreed to review your proposal," he continued. "And I was sent here to discuss the details."

"As you wish, but can we continue our conversation on your ship? I don't like this heat."

The ssi-ruuk nodded, and the group entered the ship. It looked rather luxurious, which wasn't surprising. Blue scaled ssi-ruuks were the elite of their society, with only the golden scaled being equal. But while the blue ones were the political elite, golden ones were the religious elite. They were the ones who formed their religious beliefs.

The leader of the reptiles sat on the special seat which was made specifically for their unique physical traits. It was more like a pillow on which the reptile sat. While HK and the sii-ruuvi warriors stood nearby, Danny joined the leader at the table.

"Let's start with proper introductions," Danny said. "Well, you know my name already."

"My name is Sh'tk'ith." The reptile nodded. "What do you want from our great Imperium? And speak truthfully, because we can smell lies."

"You probably know that I'm currently leading a Rebellion in Yuthanean Empire. I could use allies; one in the field is not a warrior."

"I don't believe we can help you in this. No soldier of ours will ever step foot on the inhabited world which didn't go through the cleansing ritual."

"I am not asking you to assist in this way. If people see that we are fighting alongside you, we will lose any support. We have plenty of manpower, but, all this manpower has to be armed, and with their precision we need a lot."

"You are asking for weapons, then?"

"Yes."

"That is not up to debate. We don't give anyone our technologies."

Phantom bit his lip, and then remembered that he had fangs. And that stung. Suddenly, a thought appeared in his mind. "But there must be weapons you got from the people you captured during your crusades, right?"

"We normally dispose of that junk. I don't think that there is anything left."

"What does this 'disposal' mean exactly?"

"We drop them on a special junkyard planet."

"Hm, if I offer you something worthy in exchange...would you search for working weaponry there?"

"And that will be..."

"You see, this isn't just a mere revolt now. It's a civil war. And, if we win, there will be plenty of influential and dangerous people who won't agree with the new order. They will need to be dealt with, and when we win, they are yours. I heard about your Entechment technology, and since you need fuel for all your machines so much, I can grant you it."

"Hm, that does sound rather tempting..." The reptile stretched his chin with his claw. "Very well, Phantom. We agree."

"Thank you," Phantom nodded, before shaking the reptile's hand.

-End of Flashback-

Yes, he basically sold them into slavery. But in Danny's defense, he was going to send only the most thick headed. They were too dangerous to keep around, so he was going to give them a cruiser without any heavy weaponry. The disagreeing were going by the previously set course, where they would fall into trap of Ssi-ruu. He was going to kill two birds with one stone. The first problem had been mentioned already, and the foreign power was a mere instrument in his hands. No one was going to blame him for their...unfortunate, but rather convenient capture. Vlad would have been proud.

As for the second problem, it was rather interesting. The empire Danny crippled now became his, and he had to rebuild what he had destroyed. One space battle over the capital planet destroyed the entire districts. Obliterated ships had to fall somewhere. But to repair everything in such a short amount of time, people had to work just as much as slaves without payment. Their country was surrounded by enemies, who would undoubtedly attack while they were still weak.

Of course, he would put the required effort to make working conditions more tolerable for the workers. To compensate for twelve hours of work, he would give nice living quarters, and decent food during short breaks. Even children had to work, but only for six hours. People were repairing the destruction on every inhabited planet, along with working on factories. The work was going non-stop, in two or three shifts, depending on the day's length on different planets.

Many people weren't satisfied with it; they couldn't or didn't want to see the reason of such actions of the Emperor. He didn't have a whip to force them to work, he himself threw it away, and he didn't have anything to reward them for their efforts. The money for repairs was taken from the numerous nobles' homes. Everything valuable was confiscated. But the confiscated money could get you that far. It was enough to fix the damage and jumpstart the economy and war machine.

And this is where the foreign force came into play. The alien reptiles became a symbol of a foreign force which wanted to take away their newly acquired freedom. And that served the purpose of both stick and carrot, while he had none of that. George Orwell was truly a genius. Danny was glad he had read that author. Of course, it would never come to that hell Orwell pictured, but some voiced ideas could be used. It didn't work in the old Empire, because different people had different interests, and when the soldiers pledged their allegiance towards new ruler clearly showed it. Now, all the people had a shining beacon named freedom, and the Immortal Emperor was going to be its keeper.

Propaganda was targeted only against Ssi-ruuvi government, while viewing the Imperium citizens as oppressed and brainwashed. Xenophobia wasn't appreciated, one day they would live in one country, thus creating unneeded tensions.

The interesting thing was concerning the Chiss and their country. Danny knew that those guys were no joke. Open confrontation with them would destroy what Danny tried so hard to create, and unlike the Ssi-ruu, they could observe. If propaganda turned against them, they would know about that and it was doubtful they were gonna like it. Instead, Phantom wished to cooperate with the Ascendancy.

He seeked to restore the Sith Empire, but without the stuff which made it evil and despised. The Sith Empire was allied to the Chiss, and it came to mutual benefit. Danny even established the banner of the Sith Empire; it should win favor points. Of course, it wasn't the only reason. There were still remnants of that totalitarian state, which somehow managed to avoid destruction by the Republic and the Eternal Empire of Zakuul. They would be happy to join.

Currently Phantom was on the meeting with the inner circle, which was almost the entire government for now. It consisted of the sassy assassin droid, who served as a 'bodyguard', and Komand, who didn't officially have any position. The circle also consisted of six Grand Moffs, each controlling their own sector that consisted of six systems. The rank was originally created in the Sith Empire, and Phantom decided to reintroduce it. They were skillful administrators before being enslaved. Phantom had an eye for talent, and they ascended to such high positions only thanks to him, so their loyalty was unquestionable. Also, there were a few generals, including Haseas, and admirals, including former ensign Pilion.

The council chambers weren't as huge as the throne room. Between the columns hung new red, black and white banners. It had one circle shaped table in the middle, and the Emperor had the most sickeningly fancy seat, while the others used common office chairs. Danny had a project in mind, but it wasn't his priority.

And in a middle of a report, a guard walked inside the room. The guards were dressed the same way as before, but with a white and black paintjob.

"Your Majesty, there is a person who wishes to see you. He says that he is an ambassador from the Chiss Ascendancy."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock, except Phantom and HK. All diplomatic ties were cut off thousand years ago. Phantom knew about the upcoming visit, he just hadn't informed anyone about coming in contact. Danny smirked at his subordinates' faces.

"Let him in," he ordered, nodding at the guard.

The guard bowed, before exiting the room. Phantom drummed impatiently on the table, while the others didn't know what to say.

Then the doors opened again, and a person walked in. Like any Chiss, the representative had dark blue skin and red eyes with almost invisible red pupils. He had raven hair with blue tints in some places. The person was wearing burgundy red robes, with black ornaments. He stepped in a middle of the room, and nodded slightly.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," he spoke in calm monotone voice. "I am Mitth'ras'safis of the Eighth Ruling family and I was chosen to listen to your offers."

Phantom nodded and smiled, before nodding in greeting. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mitth'ras'safis."

The Chiss blinked. Not every outlander could pronounce the name so fluently the first time.

"Uhm, sir," Grand Moff Lanius put in. "We don't quite understand Cheunh," he noted, receiving several nods.

Danny huffed lightly in amusement, before looking back at the ambassador. "Do you understand Yuthanean?" he asked politely.

"My level of knowledge is at an adequate level, otherwise I wouldn't have been sent here," Mitth'ras'savis said in the Yuths' language.

"Thank you. Take a seat please." Danny gestured towards the free seat.

"Can we move straight to the point? I am not quite welcomed around here, judging from your subordinates' looks."

This phrase didn't ease all stares the Chiss was receiving. However one glance from the Emperor was enough to make them stop glaring or simply staring.

"We will get there," Danny assured him. "But there is something that confuses me. I recall that the house of Mitth is in charge of military, not the foreign affairs."

"Indeed. That's because eight houses turned down your offer of negotiations."

Phantom became highly curious now. "Go on," he said.

"As I said, our government doesn't want to do anything with the Yuthanean Empire, no matter how it's called. And even if the Eighth House publicly denied the offer as well, we are willing to cooperate."

"There must be a VERY valuable reason for basically betraying your state."

Mitth'ras'savis actually glared at the monarch, which was rather brave on his side. The Chiss proudly raised his head.

"We are NOT 'betraying' our people. We want to assure its safety in our own way."

"Is that so?" Danny leaned back in his chair, putting a hand under his chin.

"First of all, we don't need your interference in our politics after this. After that the Ascendancy must be left alone."

"Interference, you say...We had no intention to interfere in the first place. What are you intending to do?"

"We both are facing the same threats. But, unlike most of the savages around, the Empire can be reasoned with, I hope. We have been bothered by Vagaari lately. That nomads are becoming more and more daring and we are worried that they will attack us one day. Well, our house is worried."

Danny snorted mentally at how the situation was similar to his. But his look still remained interested.

"The government doesn't want to do anything?" Haseas asked.

The chiss looked at the general with the same stone and a bit arrogant expression. "The Eighth House IS the government, along with other houses. My brother is attempting to fight the nomads off, but the other Houses don't believe in...Ezebali Hlusalu," he finished in another language. The Chiss didn't know the entire Yuthanean speech. Thankfully, Phantom knew the Cy Bysti, the trade language the ambassador used.

"Preventive strikes, you say?"

"Yes. Mitth'raw'nuruodo has been reprimanded for his tactics several times. And our House is losing influence over the government, courtesy of other houses, which can be increased if we are proven right."

"And this will only happen if they indeed attack one of your worlds."

"This isn't what my brother had in mind. He came up with the plan, and I'm not aware about all the details. I came here only to propose a temporary alliance. One day the Vagaari would come after your subjects, after all, those nomads need resources to exist. And with your ideology of freeing the slaves...they surely would be the first ones on your list."

"They still remain the Ascendancy problems. What do we gain from this alliance?"

"This action is supposed to increase the influence of our House over the government. And in case that happens, in our face you will gain if not a constant ally, then at least you can be sure that the Ascendancy won't take any hostile actions against you as long as you don't. Our people would also see that your Empire is not what it used to be if you fight along with us."

"I find your conditions quite acceptable. But, we face the same problem with the Ssi-ruu. And again, only united we will beat them. After we defeat the Vagaari, we want YOUR assistance in beating those superstitious lizards."

"We will think about it. We haven't planned on another war."

"Take your time," Danny said with a welcoming smile. "If you accept my offer, we will join you. Are you going to remain here or you will discuss the matter with your family in person?"

"Traveling back and forward is pointless," Mitth'ras'savis said, getting up from his seat.

"I take it as the first one? You can remain on the planet until the end of negotiations. Just make sure not to call too much attention."

The Chiss nodded, before leaving the room. The second the doors closed behind him, the hell broke loose.

"Your Majesty..."

"This is unacceptable!"

"They are trying to deceive you..."

"Exclamation: SHUT UP!" HK yelled, and everything went quiet. "Statement: Thank you."

Phantom stood up, before looking at his apprentice, who was quiet through the entire exchange. Politics weren't her thing, but being one of the two Force users kinda obliged her to be present.

"I haven't sensed any lies in his words. I believe Komand can support me, right?"

"I haven't sensed anything either," she agreed.

"Believe me," Phantom continued. "I know what I'm doing. The ssi-ruu are bigger threat to us than the Chiss. But the information about our cooperation must not leave this room, am I clear?"

The Emperor received several nods.

"Good. Komand, erase the guards' memory, please. Grand Moff Lucius, Grand Moff Valens, send your reports in my office, the meeting is over."

With that Phantom strolled out of the room.

Komand did as Danny told. She wasn't erasing memories in the typical meaning; she only used the mind trick to make the guards think that nothing interesting happened during their watch. She was becoming creepily skillful in it. Rather rude, but if someone blabbered it out to a drinking buddy then the information would spread like a wildfire. Phantom would have none of that.

To say that she was shocked when Danny declared himself an Emperor was saying nothing. As much as Komand was conflicted about the decision, she had to admit that Phantom was making a huge effort to build the country. And while being in public or when he thought he was alone, she was barely able to recognize him. While they were together, her trainings for example, he had an air of childishness around him and a snarky remark for everything, to the point when it was becoming irritating. When he was alone, Phantom's look turned emotionless and distant, and Komand could see that there was something beneath that cheerful face. His cheerfulness was sincere, obviously, but so was the coldness which surfaced from time to time.

In public he showed genuine care for people, going as far as saving people from crumbling and burning buildings. The space battle was truly damaging for the capital. They worked together, and were able to move the entire cruisers. Phantom concentrated the entire power of the ecto ray into a single finger and used it to cut the huge pieces of metal, before they moved them to a special place where it would be melted for future needs.

Komand often wondered about what made Danny what he was. While he had learned almost everything about her, she knew a little to nothing about him. For example, Phantom kept telling that she wouldn't see many of his race, and so far it was true. But why was he so far away from his home? Only he knew that.

After she finished her job, Komand didn't know what to do, so she searched for her friend. It wasn't hard. Even if he wasn't causing the disturbance, she could feel his presence in miles. She went to the lower part of the palace, wondering what Phantom was doing there. Komand walked to the secluded metal door before opening it. Her eyes widened in surprise at what she saw.

Ever since becoming an owner of the palace, Danny had changed one of the dungeon rooms into his own lab. It wasn't full of different junk, yet only one metal table was filled with bickers, vials, and a pile of details which used to be a blaster rifle nearby. Danny was wearing a black jumpsuit with white boots and gloves.

At the moment, Phantom was holding a vial with green glowing liquid over two ammo capsules, popping out his tongue in concentration, trying not to spill a drop. Komand couldn't keep a snort of laughter at seeing his 'serious' expression. Phantom jumped slightly in surprise, but thankfully held the bicker tightly.

"Sorry," Komand mumbled.

Danny chuckled. "Relax, no harm done."

"I didn't know you are a researcher," she commented, sitting near the table.

"Well, yes, with all that Rebellion stuff I didn't have any resources or time," Phantom explained, trying to pour the liquid again and succeeding. "I specialize in ectology."

"A what?"

Danny smiled. "I haven't expected you to know the term. This science isn't developed enough even on my planet, despite how useful it can be. Ectology consists of ecto-biology, ecto-engineering and..."

"Let me guess, it has 'ecto' in it," Komand deadpanned, crossing her hands.

"Wow, you are catching up quite fast," Danny smiled, making his friend chuckle. "Ecto-physics is a bizarre science, and the hardest to understand. After all, as you have probably noticed, I can defy gravity. However, it is more of ecto-biology. I am the most skillful in engineering. I had to learn fast, otherwise I would have been dead..." Danny made a pause.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he shook his head. "Anyways, I happened to always be nearby when a new weapon was being invented. When the creators' backs were turned, I immediately started to examine the weapon, trying to find flaws and weak spots. Those idiots thought that their creation just wasn't effective. They were so moronic and egoistic that they could never admit that their weapons had flaws."

Komand was stunned as she felt an immense hatred radiating off him. Danny must have noticed that too and took a calming breath. It was not the time to touch the Dark Side.

"Well, I learnt a lot of stuff. The main difference from the usual engineering is that it uses ectoplasm as the source of power. And since it has different properties from liquids and gases, depending on condition, ectoplasm requires a different build of machines. Now, however, I'm in a middle of a breakthrough. After learning about how usual blasters work, I believe I can modernize ectoblasters, make them more effective. Ectoblasters usually can only leave a nasty burn while on maximum power."

"And this is ectoplasm," she stated, pointing at the glowing liquid.

"Yep."

"But where did you get it? I have never seen it anywhere before."

Danny used his free hand to rub the back of his neck and smiled nervously. "Well..." he showed his bandaged finger and Komand's eyes widened. "I'm lacking natural ectoplasm, besides the one in my body. And yes, ectoplasm is our blood."

"This is...sick," she commented with grossed expression.

"Hey, that's fine. I took only a half of this syringe," Danny pointed towards three inch syringe, before shaking the filled vial. "The rest is synthetic; not much, but should be enough for two ammo containers."

"Now, the ectoplasm can be different depending from who or where in the natural environment it is taken. To make it solid you need a cold place which simply doesn't exist in the universe. And even yet, its temperature is absolute zero. It is yet to be determined how cold the environment should be to freeze it."

"But why aren't you..."

"Cold? Ectoplasm also has the least thermal conductivity. On one spot it can be cold, one inch to the side - and it has room temperature. My inners are as cold as open space. So if you drop me in a vacuum, I will be able to remain there for some time."

"You are one coldblooded creature," Komand deadpanned.

Danny smirked, "I prefer to think that my mind is always cool."

They both chuckled at the change. Phantom walked from behind the table. As he was passing nearby, Komand's face reddened. The black jumpsuit was tight, and showed every outline of his toned body and each of his six pack. She didn't know he was that buffed, his usual clothes did a good job in hiding his figure. By then Phantom had long since completely recovered from his imprisonment in the GIW facility.

Luckily for her, Danny didn't notice that and walked to the special glass container, before putting two ammo capsules full of ectoplasm in special holds.

As he closed the container, Danny looked at Komand.

"IGOR! PULL THAT LEVER!" He loudly declared in Doctor Frankenstein's voice, pointing at the lever.

Komand raised her eyebrow, but still got up and did as he told with confused expression present the whole time. Two electric coils started to spark with electricity, before being directed towards the ectoplasm containers. Phantom let out a laugh of mad scientist.

"BUAHAHA! ALIVE! IT'S ALIVE!" His mad laughter later turned into usual one. "Oh, alright, enough of that. Komand, turn it off, please."

Komand pulled the lever again and turned it off.

"What was that?"

"Oh, the laughing stuff? Doc Frankenstein yelled the same thing when he revived a rotting corpse using electricity. The classic of horror literature."

"And what have you done?"

"Well, you see," Danny picked the ammo packs and walked back to the table, with Komand following him. "I need to destabilize the ectoplasm. My ectoplasm has a nasty reaction to the high amounts of electricity, so it was the best way. No one ever tried to use destabilized liquid, because there was no telling of what will happen. It's too dangerous, but I've made a special version of a blaster which should refine extra energy and increase the firepower. Now we are about to test a new toy."

Phantom pressed a button on communicator lying nearby. "HK, might coming in the lab? And grab what I asked you to bring."

After getting affirmative, Danny turned it off and they started to construct the blaster from the details lying around. Soon the doors slid open and the droid entered the room, carrying a humanoid alien's corpse on his shoulder.

"Question: Where shall I put this piece of rotten meat, Master?" HK asked, upbeat as always.

"Put him over there," Danny pointed at the chair in the other end of the room.

"What do you need a corpse for?" Komand asked.

"First I need to expect the effects on a dead...as HK bluntly put it...piece of meat. It can pierce through or leave a burn, I don't know yet. HK, catch."

Danny threw the blaster and the droid caught it. "Now wait a moment," Phantom turned on the camera and picked up the datapad and stylus. "Okay, shoot."

HK gladly obeyed. A green bolt erupted from the rifle and hit the corpse. What happened next stunned everyone. The body was quickly decimating, and in the end only a black greenish pile of ash and the corpse's skeleton remained in its place.

"By the gods!" Komand muttered in shock, while Danny's eyes were wide as saucers.

"Well, I'll write it down as a success," Phantom scribed down what he had observed.

"Success?! Can you imagine how inhumane this thing is?"

"I do, but I said that I'm only testing a weapon. I had no idea what unstable ectoplasm is capable of. Everything it did before my attempt was stinging me, and hurt only at full power."

"Hopeful statement: You are not taking this beautiful creation from me, right?" HK asked as he held the weapon closer.

"Hm, now shoot at the wall," Phantom commanded.

Droid did as was told and now the shot left a black gash on the wall. Raising his eyebrow, Danny walked closer to it and examined it. There was a small hole in metal.

Danny sighed. "We definitely aren't going to mass produce this ammo," he muttered. "But since I have already made this gun, fine, keep it. Just remember that you have only two hundred shots in total."

"Statement: I would have hugged you, but sentiments make meatbags inferior to us."

"I take it as thank you. You may go, and bury the skeleton somewhere. NOT in my garden," he added, recalling the last time he gave the same order.

HK nodded, scooped the bones inside trash bag and walked out of the room with a gun in his free hand.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Komand asked curiously.

"Well, such destructive capabilities can still be useful if we use ectoplasm for turbolaser batteries. Just imagine what happens to the ships."

"I doubt that your blood can give enough supply."

Danny put his hands behind his back. "The only known place in the galaxy with such amounts of ectoplasm, or access to it, is planet Earth. It also has an extremely huge amount of chromium. Only problem is...the Imperium stands on the biggest and the most reliable hyperspace lane leading to it."

"So that's why you want to defeat them," she said in realization.

"Among other reasons. After all, who doesn't want to return home one day?"

With a smirk on his face Phantom left the lab, leaving his stunned friend alone.


	16. Chapter XVI: Commander Thrawn

The House Mitth agreed on Phantom's proposal. It wasn't surprising; they had to cooperate in order to ensure the safety of their nation. This alliance should be rather fruitful. The Chiss' ideology stopped them from expansion during wars. They only colonized planets, they never conquered. That's why their society was 99% Chiss. That other one percent was people who were enslaved, but they had heavenly life conditions than other slaves. Those were highly qualified specialists, and the Ascendancy used their skills.

There was one thing Danny didn't like about them: the Chiss didn't like Force Users. If someone was found to be able to use the Force, he or she was executed, no matter how high in ranks that unlucky person was. Lower classes were simply exiled, and the Yuthanean Empire caught them and put them in chains. Phantom saw this as an opportunity to expand his order's influence. He would teach them how to use their power and since they would have no other place to go, they would never betray the one who gave them a home.

At the moment, Phantom was aboard the Hyperion. His ship had gone through several modifications in order to make it fit the title of the Emperor's flagship. Maybe in the future he would change the flagship to something ten miles long, but that was just a gigantomania idea. Fewer than ten turbolasers on a two miles long ship was just pathetic; all the energy went to the front cannon. Danny decided to remove it and put it on another ship, which would specialize on using this cannon in particular. Over Valorrum, only strong shields and armor saved the Hyperion from total destruction.

All in all, now there were five hundred turbolasers, two hundred laser cannons, and eighty torpedo launchers. That energy-devouring monster of a cannon in front prevented engineers from putting so many weapons in. Yes, the cannon was incredibly effective—one shot and the hugest ships were gone for good—but putting it on a flagship was a mistake. Also, he put new engines and thrusters. They were intended to be upgraded, but the Rebellion didn't have resources for that.

The meeting was set on neutral territory, in a buffer system between the Empire and the Ascendancy. It wasn't inhabited; neither were there any habitable planets in it. And as soon as the Imperial ship emerged from hyperspace, and the white lines around disappeared, only the dark void of space surrounded them.

Then everyone saw the Chiss ship. It was painted entirely in black and had a similar shape to the Harrower—but without sharp outlines, while being slimmer, with its bridge being hard to spot. Phantom was impressed at the practical design.

After a short walk to the hangers, Danny sat inside the transport shuttle to continue negotiations on the Chiss ship. He decided against flying there himself, he would keep it hidden. There were several soldiers with him, along with HK, even if he didn't require any.

As the shuttle approached the other ship, the pilot established communications and received permission to land in one of the hangers. The shuttle slowly flew inside and landed. When the trap opened, the Royal guards went out first and stood by two sides. Then Phantom stepped out of the ship, and he could feel a wave surprise coming from the Chiss soldiers—even if their faces were hidden under dark blue and black helmets, which made them look a bit like shoguns. How strange, yet amusing.

It wasn't his age what surprised them the most; the Chiss were considered mature at the age of thirteen. However it didn't put up that the Emperor was not a Yuth, but resembled human. Yes, they had met humans not so long ago, when the commander housed some of them. The soldiers didn't know much about humans, but for some reason they didn't think that they could glow.

Phantom was wearing black clothes made of soft silk-like material, with a sleeveless jacket of a bit lighter shade over it, and with a leather belt and a white "DP" badge on his chest. A long pearly white cape was connected to his collar. And as always, he was wearing white boots and gloves.

An officer stepped forward. He was wearing a black uniform with a badge on his shoulder, which looked like a blue star with black center. It was a symbol of the Chiss Expansionary Force.

"Follow me," he said. "The soldiers must remain inside your ship."

HK was about to say something they all would have regretted later. Phantom spoke first, however.

"Very well, but my droid comes with me. I'm a ruler of a country with which you have been in hostile relationship so far. Forgive my suspiciousness and disobedience, but those are just required precautions."

The officer's lips formed a thin line. "Fine. The machine can remain."

One look from Danny prevented HK from blasting the officer. Two Imperials followed the Chiss through the corridors, until getting to the commander's quarters. The door swung open and two guests entered the room, while the officer walked in another direction.

The room was rather humble, nothing different from simple office, but Danny's attention was caught by several strange pictures hanging on the walls and a strange spiral vase on one of the tables. While Phantom observed the pieces of art, his bodyguard searched for any sign of the owner. Danny was captivated by a strange plant in a pot. He was about to touch it, but then he heard a voice behind him.

"I don't recommend doing that."

Both guests turned to where the voice came from. In the doorway stood another Chiss. He was wearing black fiber armor, with gray plastoid armor pieces protecting his shoulders, knees and elbows. His blue skinned face told that the Chiss was barely above twenty. His raven black hair was nicely combed back, and his red eyes had a calm and calculative look inside of them. And so far, they saw a nosy boy who was touching a plant with retractable thorns, and a dangerous looking droid.

Phantom regained his composure and stood straight, fixing his nonexistent tie.

"Hello, there." He smiled. "You are Mitth'raw'nuruodo, I take it?"

"Yes," Mitth'raw'nuruodo said curtly. "And you are the Emperor." It was not a question. "I expected you to be..."

"Older?" Danny raised his eyebrow. "You don't look much older, not to offend."

"Taking offence in such words is counterproductive. Take a seat, please."

Mitth'raw'nuruodo gestured towards a chair near a desk, sitting on one on its opposite side. Danny followed the gesture and did as the Chiss told.

"First of all, may I call you by name?" The blue skinned commander asked.

Phantom shrugged. "Sure, go ahead, my name is Danny, but if you want to stick to formalities, Daniel."

"You have two names?" Mitth'raw'nuruodo asked.

"Well, I have first, second and last name. Danny is just a softer form of my first one, which I prefer."

"You can call me by my core name—Thrawn." After receiving a nod, Thrawn continued. "For starters, how much do you know about our enemy?"

"The vagaari? From what I learned, they are nomadic slavers."

"Have you encountered them before?"

"I had enough trouble worrying about encountering the old Imperial forces so far."

"Then I have to share the information for our mutual benefit. Last time we fought six months ago, I sook to eliminate the threat they represent entirely. However, certain circumstances have arisen, and some part of their fleet managed to escape from our grasp. They had enough time to rebuild what they had previously lost."

"What circumstances exactly?"

"An attempt to kill me. Another battle anticipant was a colony ship named 'Outbound Flight'. Its commander was a Jedi Master Jorus C'baoth."

Danny's eyes became wide as saucers. He didn't even attempt to hide his shock. And Thrawn noticed his reaction.

"Are you familiar with him?" he asked.

Phantom shook his head, and some of his snowy locks fell over his left eye. Swiftly moving them away, Danny responded.

"No, I'm not, but I know about their Order. I'm just surprised that the Republic has actually tried to expand here. Please, go ahead, I'm interested."

"C'baoth attempted to choke me from his ship using what they call 'The Force'. My subordinates managed to stop him, giving the Vagaari fleet time to escape."

'So few details...' Phantom thought.

"A Jedi Master who gave up to the Dark Side, how low the Order fell," Danny said overdramatically, grinning. "Wait...you have defeated them before, why asking the EMPIRE to form an alliance? You are basically gambling everything you've got. If the other families learn about it you will be disowned by your own house."

Thrawn leaned back in his chair. This boy had more on the inside than what he was showing. To an unobservant person he was an immature boy, but the Chiss was not an unobservant person. This slip of mature reasoning broke that image. If the immaturity was an image, that is. What made Thrawn suspect this is a mere fact that the person in front of him instigated and won a civil war. However, it would be pointless to pretend to be childish if he had already shown what he was capable of, so it was in his nature, apparently.

The Chiss wasn't the only one who was trying to figure out his interlocutor. Phantom, however, had a harder time. Danny knew a little to nothing about the Chiss, and unlike him, Thrawn didn't let any emotion slip through the calm expression. What the Emperor knew was that he should be watchful of the Chiss, look for a catch and watch his mouth. Why weren't all blue skinned and red eyed people just straightforward? Fruitloop, Stopwatch and now the Chiss.

"I'm afraid I'm bound by arms and legs. I hope my efforts haven't gone to waste. You want to prevent your people from being enslaved, don't you?"

Danny hid his suspicion under contemplative face. Thrawn was getting off the topic. Why?

"I do. And I have yet to turn down your offer. I take it that you have a plan?"

"Indeed. Preventive strikes are unappreciated in our state, so we have to lure them on our territory. From what I heard, you have some kind of 'powers'. Are the rumors truthful?"

"Depending on what rumors we are talking about. Some of them say I can create black holes," Danny rolled his eyes.

"Surprised statement: Wait, you can't do that? Stupid wretch lied to me!" HK exclaimed.

Danny coughed awkwardly, while Thrawn raised his eyebrow. Nevertheless, he turned to the white haired ghost.

"Is it true that you can control a person's mind?"

Phantom smirked, crossing his legs. "Yes, this one is truthful," he said smugly.

He preferred to hide the fact that people could resist possession. Sadly, Thrawn noticed how Danny was too laid back, so he guessed it wasn't exactly the truth.

Thrawn nodded, and unknowingly to Phantom, his eyes turned into infrared mode. The Chiss could use it to detect lies—by heat and increased heartbeat. However, this time he saw nothing. There was no heat, only slight chill, with the coldest place positioned where his heart was supposed to be. People unintentionally heat up in certain places when they feeling different emotions. For example, when a person is surprised, he is a tiny bit hotter in his chin and forehead.

And the most confusing thing for Thrawn was Danny's lack of heartbeat. Thrawn didn't comment on that rather unusual trait, his eyes returned to their usual mode.

"Then it makes our situation easier," the Chiss continued. "If your fleet manages to push them towards our territory, and they...unintentionally attack us, I'll be authorized to destroy them."

"Hm, nice plan. But how exactly do you propose to force them attack you?"

"I'll lend you some of our 'Interdictor' cruisers. But none of your personnel must go aboard that ships and I must be present on your flagship."

"And what's so special about that cruisers so you don't want any of us be there?"

"They prohibit enemy ships from escaping into hyperspace."

At that Danny's eyes widened. Alright, that was one useful technology. Thrawn didn't want anyone to trespass because he was worried that the Empire learns how to create such ships and would use the interdictors on their own. As for Thrawn's role as attaché, Phantom didn't know why Thrawn would need it. Probably to build cooperative strategy.

"I see." Phantom rubbed his chin. "So we basically lock every hyperspace route besides the one we need. Admirable step. I guess there is no going back now. But I have some conditions of my own."

"Name them."

"First of all, they are nomads, right? They must have some ships the civilians live in."

"Last time we checked there should be about a hundred of them," Thrawn said.

"These ships and people on them must belong to us."

Thrawn put his hands together. "For what purpose exactly?"

"I plan on colonizing new planets. And getting millions of potential colonizers is perfect for such a task."

"Tying nomads to a certain place of living will cause unrest," Thrawn stated the obvious.

"We will see what they have to say when we destroy all their defenses. They will thank me later for giving them a home instead of vaporizing them."

That was rather naive thought, Thrawn assumed. The boy didn't know how stubborn creatures could be.

"We have no need of civilians as long as they are kept under control. I'm only concerned about their war navy, and I want it destroyed."

"Then we are in agreement, Commander Thrawn."

-Later-

In a short amount of time, Phantom moved the First Imperial Fleet in the system where he and the Chiss commander had set up a trap. From the information Mitth'raw'nuruodo had given him, Danny learned that the Vagaari rendezvous point was positioned in that system. But something was bugging him, though Phantom wasn't sure what. Sitting on his chair on the bridge of Hyperion, Danny heard a cough behind him. Phantom turned on his spinning chair to face his apprentice.

"Yes, do you need something, Komy?" he asked, smiling innocently at her expression.

Komand didn't like the nickname, but she knew that no matter how many times she voiced her displeasure, he would only keep going. Still, she showed her opinion by a glare. Seeing that Danny's smile hadn't faltered, Komand sighed and rubbed her temples.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

That got rid of his smile. Phantom's face became thoughtful as he tapped on a hand of the chair with his finger.

"There is a bugging feeling that makes me uncomfortable. I'm not exactly sure."

"Hm, if I recall correctly you said you always have a plan," Komand teased with a smirk, leaning against the back of the chair.

Danny narrowed his eyes. "You are lucky we are friends," he said playfully, before sighing. "I do have a plan, but that's exactly what bothers me. I'm following someone else's plan, not mine. And the person who came up with it can try to trick me. He was hiding something, and I don't like it at all."

"You think it might be a trap for us?"

"No, Mitth'raw'nuruodo clearly wanted to get rid of the Vagaari. The cruisers he promised to send are already here as you can see," Danny pointed out of the illuminator. The interdictors looked just like the usual Chiss cruisers, besides four huge spheres positioned on their wings.

"We are only waiting until our Chiss friend arrives."

"Oh, I haven't noticed," the apprentice commented. "They are painted in dark colors...really hard to notice. Are those Interdictors?" she asked, tilting her head.

"Yes, they are, Komand'r, was it?"

Both Force Users turned towards the doors and saw Thrawn walking to them.

"How did you get here unnoticed?" Komand asked.

"Haven't you received a message?"

Danny looked at a small red glowing dot on the hand of his chair. There was one unchecked message. Phantom blushed, but it disappeared as soon as it came.

"How do you know my name?" Komand raised an eyebrow.

"I know your father. He was defeated by me when I broke his blockade over one of our planets. It was rather silly mistake on his side, which helped me win."

Komand glared at Thrawn. The admiral almost lost everything because of his devastating defeat, so she had kept a grudge. The Chiss kept the same calm expression while staring at the young woman.

"So," Danny attempted to change the topic. He didn't need the Force to feel all the tension in the air. "What's our plan?"

"My Lord, the ships are emerging from hyperspace," the officer reported.

Danny turned towards the illuminator. A hundred of different sized ships appeared in a vast void of space not so far away. The Vagaari had unusual ships; unlike the Yuthanean ships, which had 'H' form, and the Imperial Star Destroyers, which were like dagger's blades, the nomads had rectangular shaped ships. The amount of ships was rather concerning. The First Imperial Fleet counted only sixty, and was commanded by the Emperor directly. So yes, the aliens had superior numbers.

Then Phantom blinked. There was something unusual about the ships, but he couldn't see what exactly, even with his enchanted sight.

"Give me binoculars," he ordered and the droid gave him the device.

Danny put it to his eyes and looked closely. Komand couldn't see his face entirely, but judging from his scowl, he obviously wasn't happy.

"Well, looks like they don't go against their principles," Phantom commented dryly, removing binoculars.

"What's wrong?" Komand asked.

"See for yourself," Danny gave her the device.

When the apprentice looked at the enemy fleet, she understood why her Master looked so displeased. The Vagaari had one tech unique in its savagery. They actually managed to put living shields on their ships. The slaves they captured were trapped inside special 'bubbles', which kept them alive and tied to the outside of the Vagaari fleet. Not many would dare to fire at the ships and kill the innocent as a result. Before the Rebellion, Komand wouldn't have cared about it, but now she found it disgusting. Even the old empire wasn't that low.

"And...what are you going to do?" she asked Phantom.

Danny tapped on the chair, putting another hand under his chin. "Commander Thrawn, what tactic have you used when you fought against them?"

"First of all, you have to accept the fact that the prisoners are as good as dead. You either obliterate them with turbolasers or they die without food and water. It is quite understandable if you aren't willing to choose the first variant. I recommend to fire at their bridges, engines, and heavily use starfighters. They don't have many in their disposal."

"Unless every shooter here has hawks' eyes then it won't do much damage," Komand crossed her hands.

The communicator started beeping.

"Oops, it is too late to think up anything else," Danny deadpanned, pressing the 'accept' button. Komand could feel annoyance coming from him, and she couldn't actually be angry at him for that. Knowing Phantom's obsession with saving people's lives, it was only logical he would be on edge.

An image of the alien appeared and Danny wished he hadn't pressed that button. The person had large hands, large violet eyes, flat ears rising high on the skull, and tan skin. He/she had two mouths, each with two sets of small teeth on each of his/her cheeks. It was wearing long robes, which looked like he salvaged it from Medieval China market. Danny grimaced slightly, even if he had sworn to himself that he would accept any race no matter how bizarre they look.

"Hello, ugly," Phantom mumbled in English.

"Trespasser!" The alien spoke in what sounded like male voice. At least Danny now knew how he should refer to the guy. "You are on the Vagaari territory. Leave immediately, or be destroyed."

"Your territory?" Phantom asked, pretending to be shocked. "I thought your borders are limited by the four metal walls of your ships." He shrugged.

The crew of Hyperion got used to their Emperor's snarky mouth by then. Some actually snorted. Thrawn raised a curious eyebrow, with a contemplative look on his face.

"The Vagaari Empire has no borders. Our last warning: begone."

"Let me make something clear. You are going to either join the only true Empire or end up being eliminated. I overheard that you like to attack first but the Chiss are always one step ahead. Why don't you attack now instead of wasting time on talking? Scared, little chickens?"

To Thrawn, it was obvious Phantom wanted them to attack first.

"How dare you?!" The Vagaari exclaimed. "Prepare to die, fools!"

The transmission was over, and Phantom looked at the Chiss, who seemed thoughtful.

"What do you want us to do instead?" He asked curiously, misreading his thoughts.

"So far it goes on a rather acceptable level. Your inaction would give them false sense of security. What is your further course of action?"

"We let them closer and then send starfighters. Bombers will attack their unprotected parts. Then we shall fire with turbolasers on close range."

"While you are approaching, they will have enough time to turn your fleet into space trash," Thrawn noted, before something caught his eye.

It was a lightsaber on Komand's belt. Danny had previously decided to let her have it back. He wasn't fighting personally as much now, and he now had the resources but not the time to make his own. An idea appeared in Thrawn's mind, and Danny noticed where the Chiss was looking.

"How capable are you in using your power?" Thrawn asked.

"Depending on what you have in mind. Each Force user is more capable in certain abilities," Danny responded instead.

Thrawn looked at the Emperor.

"The Outbound flight had a lot of Jedi aboard. They used their abilities to put the Vagaari in disarray. We used this opportunity to bomb them."

Phantom grinned, before getting up from his seat. He understood what the Chiss was implying.

"So, we only need to cloud their minds. Heh, why haven't I tried this before?" he asked the rhetorical question.

"I remind you that there were about a hundred of them aboard," Thrawn said. "So far I have seen only two."

"Well, I guess we will try." Phantom looked at the approaching fleet. "When will you turn on the Interdictors?"

"My subordinates are ordered to use them as soon as they are deep enough. I recommend surrounding them."

"Well, as we say back at my home, 'I have a trump card down my sleeve'."

Even though no one understood what he was saying, the smirk on his face was a clear gesture.

They waited for the enemy to approach. Finally, they moved inside the trap. The Interdictors activated their techs and the Vagaari seemed to notice the Chiss vehicles. Their ships formed a long line, longer than the Imperial one.

"Looks like we are not the only ones to come up with the idea of surrounding," Thrawn commented calmly, crossing his hands.

Danny realized that as well. "Starfighters in the air! Attack their left flank!" He ordered.

The orders were immediately passed to the hangers, and the pilots and droid fighters poured out of their stationing places.

"You have known all along that the protection of your ships would become priority, have you?" Phantom turned back towards Thrawn.

"They are vital to this mission."

"I'll take it as yes," Danny deadpanned. "Komand, we have to do it together. Force fear should do well."

"Are you sure about that?" she asked uncertainly.

"Yes, let them run like headless chickens," Phantom answered.

He pointed towards one of the biggest battleships, receiving a nod from his apprentice. Komand closed her eyes and outstretched her hand. Danny did the same thing and helped her reach for the enemies' minds. He knew that despite his enormous Force potential, Komand was more capable in alteration aspect of the Force. Phantom only channeled the Force into her.

"I did it!" She called, without opening her eyes, and Danny felt an excitement coming from her and flashed a brief smile, which didn't go unnoticed by the chiss commander.

The starfighters meanwhile attacked the edge of the formation. Phantom found the swarm tactics rather useful when there was so small resistance. It also compensated the lack of professional pilots. Laser cannons were shooting some of the Imperial fighters down, but their fighters were too outnumbered, their fire pattern was predictable. The chiss, their main opponents, preferred quality over quantity, they weren't used to fighting a huge amount of fighters.

The entire amount of Imperial fighters counted about two hundred starfighters and hundred bombers. Concentrating them all on only one ship was foolish, so they split up, attacking the nearest ships, even flying in the rows behind. And as soon as bombers had reached the opponent, they launched bombs towards their exposed parts. Not all have reached their destination, killing the living shields instead. Some explosions caused chain reaction across the ships.

Suddenly Komand gasped loudly and almost fell on the ground. Danny swiftly caught her.

"Komand, what's wrong?" He asked with concern.

"So much...pain..." she whispered, breathing heavily.

It dawned on Danny that she probably felt all that innocent life losses, along with terror and horror. He worked on mental barriers ever since Freakshow's ordeal. It had a sight effect of preventing a power of empathy, given by the Force. Danny suspected that something like that might happen, so he 'turned on' that barrier. Komand, on the other hand, didn't have it, and Danny had forgotten about it for some stupid reason.

Phantom glared at Thrawn.

"You knew this would happen," Danny growled, and his eyes looked like red was slowly pouring into his neon green orbs.

"Yes," was the chiss' curt answer. "Don't worry about your friend. Despite what she may feel now, it shouldn't kill her. Last time it didn't."

The crew observed the scene, physically feeling the tension in the air, and the battle was temporarily forgotten, until the Vagaari opened fire with turbolasers. The ships shook slightly, and that brought everyone into action.

"Open fire from everything we have got and order the fighters to keep bombing!" Phantom ordered without the slightest enthusiasm. He had to respond, despite how his friend reacted to this.

For some reason, Komand seemed more sensitive to others' emotions. It was never causing physical pain, except maybe for a headache. But when you feel the pain of thousands starving, tortured and killed, it can have own consequences.

The crew started typing and passing commands to another ships. Danny meanwhile picked up his friend bridal style and put her on his chair.

"You going to be alright?" he asked, moving her hair away from her eyes.

"Just a nightmarish headache, nothing I can't handle," Komand grumbled, closing her eyes. She looked so weak and vulnerable, and she hated to be like that.

Danny nodded and walked to the holographic table. Thrawn, who was observing their rather close interaction, stepped closer to the Emperor.

Phantom was looking at the holographic image of the "battlefield". He observed how the line of the alien ships shortened after bombings. Danny ordered fifteen ships on the left to move to the perpendicular position, attempting to secure the left flank. The Vagaari opened fire at them, attempting to stop the advance. Three ships were taken down, but the swarm of fighters was preventing them from coming closer and taking down more.

But as the Vagaari were flanked on the left, they were pushing back the Imperial forces on the right—and slowly but steadily pushing towards one of the Interdictors. All the time Komand was squirming on the seat and Danny kept giving her worried glances.

The stark haired young man was interrupted from his planning by the beeping of a communicator. He pressed a button and accepted the call.

"Admiral Pilion, I hope you come with good news." Phantom crossed his hands.

"Y-yes, My Lord." The former ensign was a bit nervous because of the monarch's tone. "The Second Fleet is ready for duty!"

Danny smirked. "How convenient. Prepare to fire as soon as you come out of hyperspace. Pay no care to their defenses; destroy them."

The Interdictors blocked hyperspace routs for everyone. The Second Fleet entered their zone of control and was pulled into positions near the Vagaari positions. They were surrounded.

Thrawn was quite impressed. Not that he hadn't used the same trick before.

The Vagaari were being destroyed mercilessly. Many crew members were hesitant to fire at the people, but the Emperor gave them an order to destroy the ships. Phantom attempted to find an excuse for himself. As Thrawn said, they couldn't be saved. Danny could only prevent more people to be sentenced to the same fate by destroying them completely.

The spearhead of the Second Fleet pushed through the space between the forces trying to flank the First Fleet, and the rest of the Vagaari navy. They were now divided and the cut off forces were being shot at from two sides.

"Your Majesty, I believe it's time to 'let them escape'."

Phantom turned to the Chiss. "I want them to be turned into ash."

"No need to worry about that, it was my plan and I had no intention to lie to you."

"I hope so. You want them to attack your fleet in the Csaras system, right?"

"Yes, and the fact that I'm not present there should ward away any suspicions."

"Very well, they will do just that. I'm not telling how. Order your Interdictors to shut down the field."

Thrawn nodded and contacted his subordinates. Danny meanwhile stepped to illuminator and ordered to cease the fire a bit, before putting hands behind his back, closing his eyes and creating an invisible duplicate. He sent the duplicate to possess their leader in order to retreat to Chiss territory and attack them. The Chiss commander watched the Emperor closely. Thrawn tried to find out what the stark haired ghost was doing. Danny opened his eyes and grinned. A minute later the Vagaari went into hyperspace.

"It was mind control, I take it?" Thrawn asked.

"Yes, everything went as needed." Danny turned to him. "I should apologize for my harsh reaction. You didn't know that we two are Force users, and when you found out it was too late."

"Apology accepted. It has been a pleasure, Your Majesty, your help will be remembered. I shall return to my forces."

Thrawn bowed slightly and walked out of the bridge.

'And I have learnt more than I expected to,' he added mentally.

 **A.N. Jeez, I hope I got Thrawn's character right.**


	17. Chapter XVII: Beating the dinosaurs

Thrawn's plan worked perfectly, and Danny made sure of that, probably going a bit too far. He had to make everything believable. The Vagaari attacked the orbital station of the Ascendancy. Not much of attack, actually, Phantom made them approach on a very close distance, before opening fire. The Chiss responded with everything they had, and the news reached the government quickly. Thrawn got a promotion, his house's influence increased after the Vagaari were 'revealed' to have hostile intentions. And the Eighth Ruling Family held its promise, as much as current political situation allowed. They had managed to arrange the first official meeting in millennia.

Phantom met with the Ruling Families and after a few hours of convincing, they came to agreement. Dominant xenophobia was a major obstacle on his way. Everyone was distrustful of the Emperor, but Danny managed to at least make them put their hopes in him. He had to recognize the Ascendancy control over large enough portion of space. Danny had to do that, in order to show his good intentions. He needed to control two major hyperspace lanes, and the Chiss weren't interested in trade routes with the Republic. They were leading towards the Known Galaxy from two sides.

Phantom also promised that the Empire would come to help the Ascendancy if something happens. They would just remain in their corner of the Galaxy. In exchange he asked for obvious thing. Military support in a war against the Ssi-ruu. It concerned many of them that that victory would increase the power of the Empire, and Phantom tried to reason with them.

"The Empire's conquest is not something to be concerned with," he said. "We are not after their technologies or resources. You will have the same amount of goods after your colonization proceeds. I have a map in my possession, which shows every habitable planet, and you will receive a copy. We want to establish trade routes with the Galactic Republic, but the Ssi-ruu prevent us from doing so."

He had to make too many concessions for his liking, thankfully they didn't go against the Empire's interests.

The Vagaari civillian fleet meanwhile was left to his complete mercy. They didn't have the means to protect themselves. The Emperor ordered them to surrender, and they had to agree. He settled them on fourty new habitable planets, increasing the size of the Empire two times. Phantom also chose different places, if the Vagaari were given planets close to each other, namely an entire sector, they would have rebelled, so he separated them on long enough distance. Also, only non-Vagaari governors were appointed in charge, supported by the army and Star Destroyers. Colonists of the other races were added in mix of populace. He decided to keep it that way until the Vagaari accept their fate as the full fledged citizens of the Empire. How horrific.

Danny ordered production of modernized versions of the Star Destroyers. They were given more powerful shields and received a few changes in design. For example, its bridge was now positioned very low and was almost invisible. Until the entire fleet will be ready to be replaced by superior ships of the Sith Empire, he would use Yuthanean ships.

In six months of his rule the country more or less got up from dust of the civil war, and was ready to fight against foreigners.

The war campaign started rather well, even if the Ascendancy gave him only Naval help. He didn't need more, this victory should have had a symbolical meaning, which meant he had to win major battles on the ground. The last thing the Ssi-ruu expected was a team up against them. Thrawn was appointed as commander of the Chiss Expeditionary Fleet. It was mainly him who secured the dominance in space. Together with Danny they had developed the plan of offense campaign. Despite having some skills, Phantom was more of a ground commander, plus he could help out down there. Danny was really impressed with the Chiss, the reptiles' defeat was devastating, and they lost only a few corvettes and one cruiser.

Some planets were conquered with ease, but holding them was an enormous headache. That dinosaurs retreated into forests and became partisans. Danny tried to be merciful, really, but sometimes his soldiers performed mass executions. Phantom ordered to spread propaganda, it always worked perfectly. As usual, he gambled on low class population. Brown scaled Ssi-ruu were treated like substance of the same color, and they were used as fuel for entechment tech, along with P'weck subspecie. Obviously they preferred to side with invader who promised them freedom.

They couldn't do much, but they were calling attention to themselves, causing the Ssi-ruu army to watch over them instead of fighting against the Empire and the Ascendancy. At the meantime, Phantom promised the reptiles that they will be treated like all citizens of the Empire. He also stated that their religion may remain in their autonomous sector, except for obviously xenophobic parts of their holy teachings. However, even if such method brought some of the Ssi-ruu on his side, many called him a liar. It was because of rumors of him being a god. False god for them.

With a use of his duplication power Danny was able spent a lot of time in his lab back in the capital. While his duplicate was preparing for the day to come, he was experimenting. Danny was thinking about how to use ectoplasm in other places, like power plants. It was a piece of cake to create ectoweapons. But Fentons never actually tried to use it as energy source. It was always like that with humans, Phantom noted. First they create weapons and only then turn them into items of civilian use.

If he managed to turn ectoplasm into fuel for electrostations, the Empire would have an unlimited source of extremely cheap and effective power. It will be good not only for the space armadas, citizens' electricity bills should be extremely low. But it was only a dream at the moment. Ectoplasmical generators had fundamentally different principle. You can't just burn it like coal, and it didn't have atomical structure, so he could build nuclear plants.

Danny had an idea, it was closer to the second variant. The process of atomic decay was used to emmit an enormous heat and turn the water into steam, nothing complicated. The fire ectoplasm should be an excellent choice, he could stimulate negative reaction which would cause the ectoplasm to emmit the required heat. And one barrel should be enough for quite a while, since the substance wasn't burning off.

Returning back to the matter of war, the Imperial forces approached the Imperium capital on planet Lwhekk. After Thrawn defeated their defense fleet, Phantom ordered to commence an attack, while the Chiss was maintaining the blockade. That's why he stood where he was now. He watched how his Stormtroopers were moving into march formation, preparing to strike at the capital.

The Imperial Military was reformed as well. The Stormtroopers were the main element of the infantry. They wore standardized plastoid armor painted in white, with black fiber protection beneath. Depending on rank, the shoulder plate had different colors. And while common soldiers didn't have paintjobs on their shoulder plates, for example black one stood for lieutenant, blue - for captain, red stood for colonel. Higher ranks wore different armor. Danny took inspiration from Revan's Sith Empire. The helmets, however, weren't faceless. He didn't need the conquered to fear his soldiers. Also, every moron could take on the armor and disguise himself. Instead, the helmets either didn't cover the face, or were protected by glassteel - transparent metal. (To better picture them, just imagine how movies Stormtroopers look like without helmets)

It saved a lot of money, because everyone could enlist and become a Stormtrooper, including not-exactly humanoids. Some species had own physiological traits, making the helmets extremely uncomfortable. If the helmets were closed, the factories would have to produce different ones specifically for them. But when they were opened, the only difference were in size, or maybe a few holes for horns.

On a huge opening were ten thousand troops, three hundred tanks, hundred and fifty artillery batteries. Without walkers, in forest conditions they were useless. Even teddy bears would be able to destroy it. Not to mention all the bombers positioned on the orbit. The attack on the capital should commence from different sides. Phantom was waiting for the intelligence report, sitting on an alien steed. It looked like griffin without wings and with horse legs. Those were Nathaks Komand mentioned long ago. Using speeder just didn't seem majestic enough.

In battle he was wearing black robes, with durasteel armor beneath it. Even if he could withstand blaster bolts, it hurt a lot.

"...General Haseas reports that his soldiers are ready to move out," Colonel Serus reported. "However, he fears that the jungles might be full of partisans and dangerous life forms."

"Like?" The Emperor asked.

"Well, we don't know, that's what concerns us. So far we only saw those small lizards, like that one," the colonel pointed towards peculiar reptile, who ran from below one stone to another.

It had six small legs and anchor shaped head. Danny never stopped being interested in alien life forms.

"Locals say that they eat those creatures. Some of our more daring soldiers tried eating army rations where these lizards were used. They characterized them as...edible."

"Leave one for me, then," Phantom grinned. No one knew if he was joking or not. You never know when it comes to the young monarch.

Danny felt a foreign presence behind him.

"Ah, just about time," he commented.

A Chiss agent walked closer. He wore light black leather armor with an Imperial simbol on his chest, and two blaster pistols on his belt. The Chiss were perfect spies, despite how they stood out in public. This one was not from the Ascendancy, he was enslaved a few years ago and preferred to serve the Empire despite the ability to return. It was also a pert of agreement. The former Chiss slaves could return home. The agent bowed in greeting.

"Here is the report, My Lord," he handed the Emperor the datapad.

Danny thanked him and looked at the images the agent made. The capital was protected by a dome shield, and was constantly patrolled. There were also key artillery positions. It was impossible to get more details, the cloaking device couldn't hide the smell.

"I see," Phantom mumbled, rubbing his chin. "Go ahead of our troops and contact me if you notice partisans."

"Yes sir!" The agent stood straight, before bowing slightly and leaving.

Danny was thinking about how to engage the city. The ground forces could pass through the shield easily. But engaging without fire support was foolish. He had to turn off the shields first. And he had an idea, but for now, he had to lead his army through the vast jungles. He contacted other forces and ordered them to move out. Komand and HK were positioned in other armies, however they weren't put in charge. First one for lack of experience, second one because he would be too careless with meatbags' lives.

"Colonel," Phantom called, and the high ranking officer jumped slightly. "Prepare to move out in two hours. Inform the Generals as well, warn them to be cautious."

His orders were put into action immediately, and two hours later the army regrouped into marching formation. They split into squares each counting two hundred troops, with tanks and artillery battery moving behind it and in front of another square. Phantom was riding on the nathack near the first square. He kept all his physical senses on high guard. The Ssi-ruu were resistant to the Force, and he couldn't sense their presence through it. There were no reports from the agents. Suddenly his sensitive hearing caught rustling of the leafs. It was surprising how he was able to hear it over stomping of the ground and whirring of machines. Unless...it was big enough.

Suddenly everyone heard a loud battle roar. From the bushes jumped numerous red scaled raptors, guns blazing and the claws on their hands and legs.

"AMBUSH FORMATION!" Phantom yelled, and everyone heard his order.

This formation was originally created by the young Emperor. The outer rows got on knees, taking out vibroblades and pointing them towards the enemy. The rows behind them stood firm and opened fire. The inspiration was taken from XIX century 'Carrè'. It wasn't perfect, the outer rows could be tackled to the ground by the reptiles' strong legs shall they decide to jump high in the air. If they take out machinegun then it would get nasty. Still, it was better than just standing like dummie and wait until the enemy claws your inners out. The formation was useful only against the Ssi-ruu battle tactic, where they were both infantry and cavalry because of their body build.

The vehicles, however, couldn't take formations. That's why Phantom used tanks. They could give additional machine gun support. Or, in that case, flamethrower support. However, shall the Ssi-ruu run to it and plant a detonator and the transport was gone for good. Thankfully, square formation allowed to protect machines from two sides.

Danny jumped from his transport, making a backwards salto in the air, his hands igniting with red ectoenergy. He fired at the nearest Ssi-ruu and killed him. Another one attempted to jump on him, but Phantom grabbed him in midair using the Force and threw him into the nearest tree. More natives ran out of hiding, turning to the stark haired man, and opened fire. If they kill the ruler of enemy state, the war they were currently losing might be stopped.

Phantom didn't have a lightsaber, but it won't be of much help anyway. The Ssi-ruu blasters had a unique ability. Their blasts couldn't be deflected by the lightsaber. It only splitted in two and hit the person anyway. Danny raised an ectoshield and protected himself from shots from behind. Graciously avoiding the enemy fire, Danny approached the reptiles, before blasting them dead on. The Ssi-ruu just kept coming, and to avoid as many losses as possible, he created two duplicates. First one jumped high in the air to fire from above, another - ran to protect the left flank, while the original attacked the enemy to the right.

The original Danny made double ectoswords, slashing through the pack of enemies and avoiding the enemy fire. The Force was guiding him. Suddenly another Ssi-ruu ran at him, and Phantom didn't have time to slash. His weapons were pushed out of his hands, and it turned into round of wrestling. Their hands tried to overpower each other. What complicated things was long reptilian neck, and the warrior tried to bite off Danny's head. Phantom used his ghostly strength to grab enemy's arms and threw the opponent on the ground, finishing him with blast in the head.

He looked up in the air and saw his duplicate firing and dodging enemy shots from above. He caused several explosions, and since there was a lot of raptors wannabes, many were caught in them. The duplicate then flew forward, the marching column was long, and the enemy could attack everywhere, most probably in another end, attempting to lock them down from two sides. Phantom was right, they indeed attacked from behind, too. He charged more ectobeams.

Another duplicate watched how the Ssi-ruu started throwing grenades at the formation. Smart idea. Cursing under his nose, Danny enchanted his speed and ran closer, using the Force to push grenades back at them. He noticed another reptile running at him, but he never made it. The closest tank opened fire, literally, completely roasting the enemy.

"Mmm, fried lizard," Danny hummed and smirked.

The battle kept going for about half an hour, and even though the Stormtroopers were holding their ground, they were still suffering heavy casualties. Phantom had to do something, and he got an idea. He dispersed his duplicates, before flying in the air. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He had to be extremely careful, he didn't want to hurt his own soldiers.

His hands cackled with electricity, before a powerful lighting erupted from his hands. Well, not exactly, more like from a distance of one inch from his fingertips. The green electricity jumped from one Ssi-ruu to another, and the field was filled with yells of extracruciating pain. The Stormtroopers watched in shock and awe how the fried enemies were falling dead one by one. He really looked like raging God at the moment.

One of the Ssi-ruu, however, was approaching the ghost from behind, pointing his blaster at him. Suddenly he himself was shot in back.

The sound caught Danny's attention, but he couldn't turn around, he had to watch over his chaotic power. After a few more seconds, he stopped, slowly descending on the ground and landing with a soft thud. Almost nonexistent road had turned into something unrecognizable. Phantom looked behind and noticed smoking corpse which he was ready to swear wasn't there before.

"Up here!" He heard an exhausted shout.

Phantom looked to where the sound came from. The Chiss agent was leaning against the tree with a smoking blaster in his hand, holding his waist with another arm. In a cloud of smoke Danny teleported closer to him, and helped him move to the rest of the soldiers.

"Mind telling what happened?" Phantom asked in calm tone. It was hard to tell if he was relieved or displeased.

"That lizards took me by surprise. They wounded me and if not for approaching army, I would have been dead," the scout told.

"I see...Colonel, how many dead we have?" Danny called.

"Half, by the looks of it," the officer reported. "We have yet to count them."

Phantom carefully put the agent on the ground and sighed. He took out a communicator, but it refused to work.

"Looks like they are jamming our communications," Danny commented dryly. "We are getting behind the shedule."

"Which means no rest?" The Chiss asked.

Phantom rubbed his chin. "Those who can walk will walk when we depart. Colonel, bring here all those who can't. We will quickly attend them and then go."

"But what will be..."

"Complete order, Colonel. We are losing time," Danny interrupted.

"Yes, sir!"

When the officer went away, Phantom kneeled on the agent's eye level.

"Just keep calm and everything shall be fine," he said.

"What do you..."

Danny supported his subordinate's body with one hand and moved another over the wound. He closed his eyes, and his hand glowed with bright white light, as well as the wound. Everyone around stared in awe at how the burned place seemed to heal on rapid pace. In a few seconds it was over, and the Chiss seemed perfectly healthy. Phantom got on his feet and shook off the dirt.

"You should be fine now," the Emperor stated.

The scout attempted to stand up and succeeded like he wasn't injured in the first place. Before he could thank Phantom, the last one already went to look over the rest. The soldiers looked at the displayed miracle with eyes wide as saucers.

Not many were lucky enough to survive, so Danny finished the healing process soon enough. He lost half of his men and women in the ambush. It wasn't good, he needed to regroup with the other groups, hopefully they weren't killed off in the skirmishes. To lift dropped battle spirits Phantom walked on his own, without his transport, to show an example. He didn't show any sign of exhaustion, and the Stormtroopers tried to follow his example. They all moved on increased pace to compensate the lost hour. Thankfully there weren't any more complications.

Finally they saw glimmering shield over the trees, which meant that they weren't far away from the city. Soon they went out of the jungles, passing through what seemed to be a farm. At least they were now on open ground.

Finally they reached the capital. It wasn't a huge megapolis, it was more like medieval city. It was understandable, that city was their capital since the ancient times. Its outer walls protected the living area, with another wall protecting the palace of their 'Supreme Leader'. And judging from where the shield projecting beam was coming, it was also where the shielding generator was. The stone walls obviously couldn't stand against artillery, so the Ssi-ruu reinforced the inners of the walls with durasteel. And with long batteries which could stick from behind the shield, fire, and then move back under it, the capital was quite a nut to break.

Phantom ordered to remain outside of firing distance, behind the trees. He also ordered adjutants to deliver messages to another positions to be ready to storm the city. His order was to unite forces into one fist. He realized that spreading his crippled forces like a small piece of butter on bread was foolish. The Ssi-ruu had number superiority, but they had to spread their forces, too. Phantom had done a few fooling maneuvers to hide true movements of his soldiers. The artillery was left where it was, under small guard. It still should have fired in order to make them think that he was going to attack from different sides. It was originally his plan, but with recent losses he had to change his attack plan.

Once everyone was ready, Danny teleported inside the city and appeared in an alleyway, before becoming invisible. Phantom flew towards the Palace district, all the while observing key strongholds and sniper positions. That would come in handy later.

Still invisible, Phantom was over a square in front of the Palace. In its middle stood a five meter tall and wide generator, protected by at least twenty soldiers on constant watch, and ten more patrolling different sides. Danny had to do it quick before they detected his smell. Carefully avoiding close contact, he flew over the generator and charged an ectoblast. Of course, he couldn't hide bright red ball of light. Phantom was noticed, but it was too late, he already fired. The huge explosion obliterated the generator and some of its guards. The shield slowly dissipated, and Danny teleported back to his troops. He ordered his army to approach, including the artillery. Once the latter one got into firing range, the entire ground shook violently because of simultaneous fire.

Danny turned on the holocommunicator.

"Commander Thrawn, the shields are disabled."

The Chiss nodded, understanding the message. "I'm sending down bombers."

Soon enough, the air was filled with characteristic roar of starfighters. They flew right above their heads and opened fire at the walls. That, along with artillery support, created several breaches inside of them. After the batteries were out of ammo, what used to be a wall, was reduced to rubble. Phantom stepped in front of his soldiers, with ectosword shining in his hand.

"Soldiers!" he called loudly. "The Fate chose you of all people to conquer the capital of the Imperium! You survived through everything it threw at you before, and now it is your chance to show what the New Sith Empire is capable of! The times when we were a laughstock of the Galaxy are over! Today, we show everyone that our country is a force to be reckoned with! That no one can put our people in chains and get away with it! For the Empire!" He shouted, raising his weapon in the air.

With enthusiastic roar, the Stormtroopers followed their Emperor in fight. With no batteries to fire at the approaching army, they had no visible trouble while approaching the city. When they broke inside, a huge battle ensued. The Ssi-ruu had to split their forces, but the number superiority was still on their side. Once they realized that no offence was coming from the other sides, the reptiles started moving their forces towards the main battlefield. The fight was going in three directions, each covering an entire street.

After picking a huge stone through the Force, Danny threw it at the approaching reinforcements. Someone jumped over it, someone was killed by it. Phantom started launching one lighting after another. Then he noticed that the left flank was being pushed back.

"Komand!"

When his apprentice looked at him, Phantom nodded in that direction. She understood the motion and jumped to help soldiers there.

'And where is...'

"YEHAAA!"

'Nevermind,' Danny deadpanned mentally, looking at where the voice came from.

HK forced one of the enemy reptiles to become his temporary transport. Namely he jumped on one of them and zapped him in back until it began running. All the while the droid was firing at the enemies from both hands, not paying attention to one beneath him, who fruitlessly tried to shake him off.

"Well, at least he is having fun."

Soon enough they forced the Ssi-ruu to retreat. The air dominance played key role in that. However, the Stormtroopers had hard time anyway. It was the battle of military drill and battle spirit against primal instincts and religious dedication. They had to slowly fight off each house, but as was previously mentioned, the city wasn't that big, plus half of the buildings were reduced to rubble after bombardment. After a few maneuvers, the enemy forces were cut in several parts, surrounded and killed off.

While they were being dealt with, it was time for the main forces to storm the palace. That walls were unreachable for the artillery, so it was almost unscathed. And even if the batteries on them were destroyed by the starfighters, the Ssi-ruu were still shooting down at the Imperial soldiers. Phantom ordered to take cover and not to peak outside. He himself walked closer to the gates, ectoshield in front of him protected the ghost even from rockets launched his way. He stopped in front of the closed gates.

Before anyone could fire again, Phantom took a deep breath. Then the shield dispersed and he unleashed his Ghostly Wail. The enemies covered their ears from deafening sound, and were too occupied to fire at the seemingly defenceless figure. The wall started to gain cracks on it, before it crumbled in pieces and was blown away by the green sonic wave. Finally Danny closed his mouth and wiped it, smirking at the damage he had done. Phantom then turned to his mean and ordered to follow.

The square now was quite messy, with dead bodies lying beneath huge rocks. Apparently, they weren't expecting the wall to just be blown away. Phantom, along with fifty troops, which also included Komand and HK, broke through the huge doors. There they were greeted by about seventy Ssi-ruu. They didn't open fire immediately, one of them, who had golden scales, made a step forward.

"You, the pretender! You have trespassed our holy land!"

"Oh, so we are giving typical pre defeat speech? Let's skip to the part where you capitulate," the Emperor waved his hand in bored fashion.

"CAPITULATE?! We will never capitulate to you, heretics!"

A creepy smirk crawled on Phantom's face. "Hm, is that so, I thought your Elder Council came to another decision."

As he said that, the red scaled Ssi-ruu pointed their blasters at the gold scaled ones.

"What do you mean?" The Supreme leader asked almost fearfully.

"Oh, you see, a little birdie whispered on my ear that the Elders and the Conclave, that's how your religious body called, right? Anyways, I learnt that you don't like each other and would prefer to get rid of the opponent. And I thought, why not use it? Some of the Elders agreed to work with us if we get rid of the Conclave and the leader who supports them. I don't see any of them here. That's why we haven't invaded all your planets...in exchange for autonomy they are ready to join the Empire."

"That dirty little..."

"Tut-tut, language," Phantom wriggled his pointing finger. "I must say, it is rather convenient you decided to stay here to inspire your troops, kill them."

And with that the Supreme leader and the Conclave heads were destroyed by their own bodyguards.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I am too tired to say a long speech, so I'll just say, the victory is ours!" The Emperor shouted to earn even louder cheers.

-Later-

Phantom stood on the Palace's balcony, from which the entire city was like on palm. The sun had set long ago, and he simply stared at the night sky, where he could also see several Star Destroyers. Below him were bright lights, that were his soldiers celebrating the victorious end of the conflict. A loud music and happy cheers were heard all the way to Danny's position.

After the Conclave was destroyed, he contacted the Elders who side with him. To the eyes of the public, it would seem like they soberly sign the capitulation. It stated that the Ssi-ruuvi Star Cluster, and the Imperium positioned there become an autonomous region of the Sith Empire. They paid less taxes until their region would be rebuilt, they had own government which responded only before the Emperor, without Grand Moffs and governors. Of course, they were forbidden to have own fleet, but were encouraged to join Stormtroopers and the Imperial Navy.

The slavery had to be abolished and the entechment technology was forbidden. Instead, the Empire would build normal Power plants. The Empire respected their non-inhumane traditions and promised not to get involved. Such soft measures were to prevent revolts. The Stormtroopers still had to rat out partisans, but all in all, the war was over.

Also, he put up quite a show with the 'rescued' Yuthanean authorities. They were so thankful, that they were happy to take new positions. They knew that the Emperor was the only one who kept the people from killing them afterwards, so working on him was in their best interests.

Danny was stopped from his relaxing observations when he heard a voice behind him.

"Enjoying the view?" Komand asked, coming closer to him.

"Oh yeah, half obliterated city seems very inspiring," Phantom responded in his usual cocky manner. However, Komand sensed that something was troubling her Master.

"What are you thinking about?"

Danny sighed deeply, and his glowing green eyes met her dark purple ones. He ran a hand through his hair.

"Do you know why I was back there on Valorrum in the first place?" He asked.

Komand shook her head, her curiosity picked.

"I came there with only one task in mind, to avenge those I love no matter what. But that would mean going against one of the strongest states on my world. I came there seeking power, and the Empire could give me enough to conquer that planet."

"That's why you started that Rebellion?" She asked in shock.

"At the beginning, yes," Danny confessed. "But as the time went, I realized that I want the Galaxy to know peace. Revenge went on second plan, I will conquer the Galaxy and there will be no wars, because there will be no disputes between the states. Ruling with firm, stern, but just hand. My own problems were temporary forgotten. Now, however, I'm about to do what I wanted since the beginning. Now, with the Empire under my rule, I'll return to Earth."

 **A.N. Danny isn't the only one. I wanted to write that part since the beginning. Are you excited for ultra massacre just as I am, huh?**


	18. Chapter XVIII: The Emperor's family

It was a good thing the human civilization hadn't developed well enough. Otherwise, an entire armada, consisting hundred ships, would have been spotted on the edge of Solar system. The Imperial fleet emerged near Pluto, but it was only to concentrate forces. Not that only one Star Destroyer wouldn't have been able to capture the planet, but Phantom decided to be more...delicate in that question. But first he had to debrief his subordinates. At the holographic table was projection of all the planets in the system. Near it stood several holograms of captains and admirals, who were patiently listening to what their Emperor had to say.

"Well done, gentlemen, the hyperspace jump went without a stitch," Phantom praised. "Now we can concentrate on establishing our dominance over the system. Humans never were able to travel further their own moon, but they launch special zonds to take photos of the planets. They must be avoided at all costs. We must not be spotted too early, am I clear?"

Receiving multiple nods, Danny continued. "Now, there are nine planets here, even if they don't consider this one a planet," he pointed out of illuminator at the flying rock. "Pluto is of no interest to us as well, next go Uranus, Neptune and Jupiter. Those are gas giants, send five of our ships to each and scout for any valuable gases. They must remain there till the end of campaign. Same goes for the asteroid belt and Mars. Maybe there are some useful resources. Mars also has acceptable conditions to set up an outpost, but there isn't enough oxygen, so be warned. Since it is so close to Earth, the ships you send there must remain on the back side of the planet. They can see you through telescopes."

"Here comes the most interesting part. The rest of our fleet must remain here. Only at my command you are to jump into hyperspace and come on Earth orbit. You will receive further instructions there. You are dismissed."

The holograms were turned off, and Komand approached eighteen years old ruler. 

"So...you are not going to just sit here, I take it."

Danny grinned. "You read my mind, my dear apprentice. Yes, since I know about that planet more than anyone, I'll be the most fitting candidate for this task."

"How dangerous this conquest is going to get?" She asked. Seeing Danny raising his eyebrow, Komand continued. "If there is an entire race capable of doing what you can..."

Phantom laughed. "Relax. Earth is dominated by humans, while my kind exists in...another place. I'll show you later rather than tell you. Humans aren't really different from the Yuths. Except for anatomical differences, you are very much alike. Your skin color, though...well, they will assume you spent too much time under sun."

"Does that mean I can go, too?" Komand asked hopefully. She was really curious about his homeworld.

Phantom tapped on the ground and hummed. "I don't see why not, but you have to learn the language first. Follow me," he invited.

Komand followed the Emperor to his room. There Phantom put his hands on her head, with his thumbs on her forehead. Both Force users closed their eyes. Danny was teaching her English through the Force, quite convenient ability. After a short time, he let go of his apprentice and opened his eyes, and Komand sighed tiredly, as she rubbed her forehead. When you learn an entire language in less than a minute it can prove mentally exhausting.

"Okay, go take a nap now. Once you wake up, we will go."

Komand nodded groggily, "Ugh, fine."

She lied down on a sofa. The second she closed her eyes, the apprentice started snoring loudly. Alright that part broke the peaceful image. In the meantime, Danny had to disguise himself. Phantom was presumed dead, no pun intended, and he wanted to keep it that way as long as possible. If only he was still a halfa...a lightbulb appeared above his head. He walked to his bathroom and attempted to use the Dark Side technique. That ability could hide the corruption caused by it, Danny actually wondered if he could use it to add minor changes. 

Phantom succeeded. Looking in the mirror, he froze at his image. Midnight black hair, more tanned skin and ice blue eyes, which were opened widely. He slowly moved his hand across his face, finding it hard to believe it was really him staring back from the mirror. He had almost forgotten how he looked like when he was alive. But it wasn't the same, that illusion couldn't make his heart beat again. He was dead, and there was no going back. His sorrow then turned into rage. He unvoluntary clenched his fist, cracking the sink in two. However, he saw what he had done and froze the pipe, closing the leak. Phantom also realized another thing.

"I'm on a very dangerous edge," he mumbled.

That unrefined hatred and lust for blood...it was what could push him to the Dark Side. And Danny was glad he decided to bring Komand along since the beginning. Someone had to prevent him from that. Danny sighed and just decided to continue with his disguise. Looking like Danny FENTON was not part of his plan. However, maximum he was able to do was partially remove his illusion. His hair were now dark gray. With green eyes, but without such toxic gamma and light. It could work.

He had previously ordered to make himself 'special' clothes. It was an official black smoking, white shirt and tie. 

Taking off his black military uniform, Danny tried his new clothes on. Since the materials were different, the feel was different, too. They were softer and more comfortable. The uniform was the same he found in the wardrobe of this same ship. The only difference was that he had a white 'DP' emblem on the left part of his chest, with white axelbants connected to his shoulder straps. His belt had the Imperial coat of arms on it. It was a hexagon, with arrows coming from its center to its corners.

Phantom sat on his chair and waited for his friend to wake up, looking out of his window and on the lifeless stone which used to be called a planet. He felt really strange. Just a year ago, a mere thought about becoming an astronaut excited him. He dreamed of becoming the first man on Mars, and seeing Pluto on such a close distance would have made him faint. How curiously everything had changed. Now he ruled an entire interstellar Empire. And that space rock now seemed for him just that - a rock. 

Danny felt something nuzzling against his hand. Seeing what it was, Phantom smiled. He petted his hawk. Alva grew to the size of kakadoo, and was already eating meat in huge amounts. It was rather useful, she was eating all pests who were brought by scouting ships. Apparently, her stomach was made of steel. Of course, her Master was doing constant checks in order to prevent any alien diseases. It never stopped amusing the Emperor how his subordinates were giving nervous glances at her razor talons and sharp beak, while reporting to him. Everything he had to do was whistle and she would tear the person to shreds. 

In his thoughts Danny didn't notice how the time passed. He heard movements behind him and smiled. 

"Well, good morning," Phantom said, turning back on his chair.

Komand jumped in surprise at seeing an unfamiliar person standing there.

"Who are..." she rubbed her eyes. 

Danny's eyes glowed. "Looks like my disguise works perfectly," he said smugly. 

"Ah, it is you," Komand deadpanned, getting up and stretching her muscles. 

Phantom pouted. "And who did you think it was?"

"I thought it was someone prettier," she snorted at his dumbfounded expression. "So, what is your plan?"

"Take this clothes first," Danny gestured at a pile lying on his table.

Komand nodded and took the clothes, before going to the bathroom. Danny patiently waited for his apprentice. Soon she exited the bathroom, wearing short cap sleeve dress barely reaching for her knees. It was white above the belt and black beneath it. Komand crossed her hands as Danny hid his blush. She looked really nice.

"Why does everything you make has to be black and white?" 

"Dunno. I just like those colors and I don't know your favorites," Danny stood up and patted the bird for the last time. "Put your lightsaber in there," he pointed towards leather purse.

Komand did as he said and took the bag.

"A cloaking device is hidden there as well. Anyways," he outstretched his hand, "Let's get to the fun part."

They walked out of the alleyway. It was a square in front of city hall. The city hadn't changed a bit. Danny smiled slightly, breathing in vomits coming from the cars. It was nice to return home. And soon, he will make his homeplanet a prospering jewel in Imperial Crown. It would become rich, that much was undoubted. Since it was the only place where the ectoplasm could be excavated, the Earth would get a lot of money from the trade. 

However, it will be hard to 'convince' humans. The conquest will go smoothly, but they will stick to their democracy, not realizing all its flaws. And, as long as GIW exist, no one will bow to the ghost Emperor. Also, they had an ectoweaponry, which, with slight additions could be turned into blasters. The bullets won't do anything to the Stormtroopers, so only the GIW possessed threat to the invading forces. Maybe it will even go without any losses.

Phantom knew nothing about evolution of their weaponry. Because, as was previously mentioned, first humans create weapons, and only then civil technologies. Phantom wasn't worried so much, they obviously hadn't developed space technologies, and that meant that there will be no visible resistance to the Imperial Armada. One squadron of Star Destroyers had weaponry equal to France's nuclear arsenal. However, he still planned on acquiring the weaponry samples. And the most satisfying thing was that it will be completely legal.

"So, what's our plan?" Komand whispered.

"Well," Danny rubbed the back of his head, "Care to go for a walk?" 

Two Force users walked down the road, with seemingly no purpose in mind. But Phantom had a purpose. Thankfullly, the city layout hadn't changed. Danny was silent all the way, fully absorbed in his memories. The ghost was recalling the past, and the gray buildings didn't lift his mood. Suddenly, one building caught his eye and he chuckled. 

Komand, on the other hand, was born in futuristic city, so visiting a backwards planet was enlightening for her. That primitive technologies were funny. She was only observing alien designs and people around. Danny was right, they didn't look any different from her race. When her friend chuckled, she turned to him. Danny noticed her look and a question in it. Phantom pointed at the small building, built from red bricks, and a white sign in front said 'Casper High'. 

"Ah, high school, the best days of my life," he commented in sarcastic tone. 

"That's where you were educated?" Komand asked.

"Well, if you call living on the edge of being expelled an education, then yes."

"Why? You don't seem stupid."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I didn't have enough time to study. I learned only what I wanted. You can see I found a good use to that knowledge."

After a few more minutes of walking Komand decided to ask something. 

"Hey, Phantom..." 

He shushed her immediately. "Don't call me that around here. It's Danny, okay?" 

Komand blinked, "Alright, but where are we going?"

"I'm afraid we are already here. Just play along, you may not like it."

Komand raised her eyebrow, before looking around for the place where they were going. Apparently, it was a large brick building ahead. Why she thought that? Because there was an entire station, positioned on its rooftop. There was also a neon sign, which said 'FentonWorks'. Suddenly she felt Danny's hands gripping hers. Phantom stared right in her eyes, with a pleading look on his face. 

"Komy, inside that building I may lose myself. Make sure that it doesn't happen, alright?" He asked.

The apprentice nodded slowly, surprised by his tone. Last the time he was like that when she said that they were friends. Emotional and vulnerable. 

"What makes you say this?" 

"Because behind that door leave people I hate the most in the entire galaxy."

Before she could ask what he meant, Danny was already knocking on the door. She growled slightly under her nose. If there was one thing she hated in her Master, it was that he preferred to leave her in shadows. And most of the times, it was because she wasn't going to like it. 

Soon the doors opened, and the second it happened, there was a flare of hatred coming from Danny. It wasn't going to be easy. The person who opened the door was very tall, was wearing an orange jumpsuit, had graying black hair and blue eyes. The giant of a man smiled brightly. 

"Hello there, how may I help you?" 

"Hello, Mr. Fenton," Phantom said in calm, almost cold businessman tone. "May we enter?" 

"Oh, of course, come in," Jack gestured to come inside. 

The living room was the same as Danny remembered it. Jack invited them to seat on a sofa. 

"Hey, Mads, we have guests!" He called loudly. 

From the basement came a woman in blue jumpsuit, brown hair and lilac eyes. 

"And who are you, young man?" 

Danny smirked internally. They were such morons. On the outside he remained calm.

"Daniel Fendin, ma'am."

"And why are you here?" Maddie sat on an armchair nearby.

Phantom sighed. "You see, my home was attacked by the ghosts a few days ago. If not for that good men in white suits, we wouldn't have been talking right now."

Alright, he was having too much fun with this. He could go nuts and then laugh the entire day on his ship. However, Maddie seemed suspicious, that was not what he wanted. Obviously, she wasn't going to buy the same trick twice. Fenton was Phantom, after all, despite what they believed in. Danny had to move away her attention. 

"My poor wife was seriously wounded in that attack," Phantom said, looking at his friend, and Komand's eyes were ready to jump out from her head. What did he just say?! 

"Shh, Komy, calm down, stay with me," Danny said softly, putting a hand on hers, fully getting into his role of caring husband. He was trying to make her surprise look like painful recalling of traumatizing event.

Komand decided to make him pay later, and Danny could see a burning inferno in her eyes, despite a sweet smile on her face. A feeling of dread rose in his stomach. Thankfully, she decided to play along with an act. 

"Thank you," she said.

Phantom sighed on the inside. Thankfully, his plan worked without problems, Fentons obviously believed them.

"That stinking piles of ectoplasm!" Jack jumped on his feet. "Don't worry, we will avenge your wife, or I am not Jack Fenton!"

'Oh, better avenge my sister and kill yourself,' Danny thought. 

To Komand it seemed strange. These people looked nice, why was she feeling only hatred coming from Phantom? 

"I don't really want to bother you, but since you are leading experts in ghosts, we decided that we want to purchase everything you have for sale."

Fentons' jaws dropped. 

"I'LL BRING EVERYTHING!" Jack exclaimed in excitement and ran off, while Maddie simply got up and followed. 

Now when Danny and Komand were alone, the last one turned to her Master. Phantom gulped.

"Wife?!" She whisper yelled.

"I had to make it believable," Danny argued. "Madeline seemed to suspect something. I tried to divert attention."

"You are so dead after we finish," Komand growled, getting up from the sofa.

They started waiting for Fentons, and while doing so, the young woman walked around the living room. She examined the primitive technologies there and there, and Danny was patiently sitting on his place. Suddenly, Komand saw something on a shelf. It was a photo. Fentons were present there, but so were two kids. The first one was a teenage girl with red hair and teal eyes, wearing black sweater and blue jeans. There was also a boy, with raven black hair and strikingly blue eyes. He looked oddly familiar...Komand glanced at Danny and her eyes widened. Replace his illusional gray hair and green eyes, and they will be the same!

Phantom noticed her shocked stare, and then a photo near her. His look turned sad as he looked on the ground.

"Huh, no one could figure out for three years and now you solve the puzzle by simply looking at my old picture. Good job."

"It's...you?"

Danny approached her slowly and took the picture in his hand, looking sadly at it.

"Yes, I'll tell you everything later, but promise not to tell ANYONE. If someone finds out that their Emperor is related to this..."

"Here you go!" Jack's booming voice was heard from the staircase. Phantom quickly put the picture back and looked at him. Maddie followed her husband, carrying another box.

Jack put a huge box nearby. "All those beauties will cost you...five thousand dollars."

Danny whistled. Judging from his reaction, Komand assumed that it wasn't cheap. 

"Are you sure we need them?" She asked carefully. 

"Nonsense, my dear," Phantom waved away her concerns. "Nothing is expensive when it comes to your safety. I'm buying them, but I don't have such money on me at the moment. Here," Danny gave them a business card. "My agent will come later and give your payment. If he doesn't arrive by tomorrow, contact me."

"I'm not sure..." Maddie said. 

"Do not worry, you will receive your payment," Phantom added, waving his hand slightly in front of Jack's face. He knew it was pointless to do the trick with Maddie. 

"Yeah, Mads, the GIW are buying them twice cheaper! It's an opportunity!" 

Maddie sighed, "Fine, we will wait." 

Danny nodded, picking up both boxes, letting out a fake grunt. Turning away, he grinned deviously. Like he was going to pay them. Too sad that for now it was everything he could do.

He and Komand went out of the house. And as soon as the door closed, Komand looked at her friend.

"So, would you kindly to explain what's going on here?" She asked.

Danny only gave her a look, which said 'later'. Komand could sense he wasn't eager to share the information. 

When they entered another abandoned alleyway, Phantom made another portal and they came out back in his quarters on the flagship of the Armada. Danny put his boxes in the far corner of the room, before flopping on his chair behind the desk. Sighing deeply, Phantom looked at his apprentice, dropping his illusion. 

"Well, it was obvious one day we will have this conversation. Ask away," he said without any enthusiasm. 

"You are related to that people, aren't you?" 

"Yes, Komand. You just met my birth parents."

She was only slightly surprised. It was just too obvious, and she had time to comprehend this fact. Komand only got her thoughts confirmed. 

"Wait, they are humans, right?" Receiving a nod, she continued. "Then why you aren't one?"

"It's...rather complicated. Do you know what ghosts are exactly?" 

Komand shook her head. Sighing, Danny tapped on the table. 

"Ghosts, for the most part, are souls of deceased people," he said grimly. 

Now that what made Komand's jaw drop and eyes to widen. 

"You may not believe me, but just think, I can fly, my heart doesn't beat...When a person dies in extremely painful conditions, they become ghosts. Ectoplasm is truly magnificent thing. It can even bring dead back to 'life' in a certain way. My situation was a bit different, I died and was exposed to ectoplasm at the same time. Unstable ectoplasm. I became something unique, something which broke the laws of nature. I was alive, but by snap of the fingers I could become like this and do all the things ghosts can."

He crossed his hands, leaning back in the chair. "One year ago, the process was finished. I was killed and became a full ghost."

"Who killed you?" Komand felt really weird asking that question, but she didn't have any reason to distrust him. After all, why lie about the fact that you are a walking dead?

Danny looked straight in her eyes, and Komand felt uncomfortable under his neon gaze. "My parents," he responded bluntly. 

Komand was shocked again. "Why?" She whispered.

"Because they hate ghosts. They didn't care that their own son was one. And they didn't care if they killed a few people in the process, they simply blamed me. They may seem nice, maybe they truly are, but ONLY to humans. For them, I'm just an ectoplasmic manifestation of post human consciousness in need of eradication. An animal, which they can examine however they want," Danny said bitterly. 

Feeling his pain growing with each word, Komand tried to comfort him.

"Phantom...Danny, don't let it get in your head. You yourself told me that sorrow leads to the Dark Side. Maybe it was for the best?" 

Danny's head snapped towards her, his eyes glowing brighter.

"Gods, that's not what I meant," Komand said in exasperation. "If you stayed with your 'family', then what would have been of the Empire? You freed all that people from slavery and expanded it three times, you have already written your name down in history. If not for you, our country would have been conquered as the time went. You helped all of us. As for Fentons, you are getting your revenge anyway, there is no need to feel sad about what happened before. I suck at being a wise crack, do I?"

Phantom's look softened considerably. He smiled at his friend's words, before a teasing smirk appeared on his face.

"Yes, you do. But this one was very nice."

"Very funny. Glad to have you back from your angsty ball," Komand deadpanned.

"I guess my little act back there is forgiven, right?" He asked.

"Yeah," she slapped him across the face with a loud smack. "You are forgiven."

With that Komand left the room, taking her clothes on her way. Danny rubbed his sore cheek. 

"It was worth it," he smirked. 

A.N. I'm evil, yes, I'm pulling time, but heads will fly in the next chapter.


	19. Chapter XIX: The Emperor's wrath

Fury-class transports were commonly utilized by prominent Sith Warriors and Sith Inquisitors as their bases of operations throughout important missions on which they were assigned. For this the interior included a large communications room with a holoprojector, as well as cabins for the ship's crew and a conference room.

The bridge was located in the center at the front of the ship. It featured numerous computer panels as well as seats for the pilot and co-pilot, all overlooked by the commanding officer's seat in the center of the bridge. The weaponry of the Imperial interceptor was four high powered laser cannons and missiles to inflict a large amount of damage in a short time along with military grade shielding in order to survive space battles and starfighter combat situations. The Imperial Interceptor was also easily upgradable for a variety of situations.

Now, however, they were used by the New Sith Empire. Being largely outdated, they were modernized by the IRB - Imperial Research Bureau. It was a number of state funded facilities, which was split in different branches, specializing in creating own kinds of techs. In order to get there, you have to pass numerous tests with the highest results.

One of that ships was a gift from the Emperor to Komand on her birthday. Well, he knew how to make a unique present. Usually it was a car, and he gifted her a starship armed to teeth. Currently that ship was approaching the capital of the steadily growing Empire. Danny let her visit the prisoner. Not much of a prisoner, actually, Admiral Sul'r was put under home arrest. Phantom didn't want to make his friend feel bad, so he didn't throw him in prison. No, he was put under guard in his apartment in the city under constant watch.

The biggest punishment he had was watching the daily news.

Komand landed on special landing platform and went out of the ship. The platform remained separated from the rest of spaceport, so it won't bother anyone. She then took a taxi and got to the apartments. They were positioned on considerable distance from the Government District, for safety reasons. Well, actually, the district only consisted the Palace, but it was big enough to be considered one. The government consisted only the council of Grand Moffs and Military leadership, all of which were doing their job inside the special hall.

After entering the building Komand used the elevator to get upstairs. One door in particular stood out because of two guards standing near it. They were dressed in red armor and pointed red open helmets, with vibrospikes in their hands. When they saw her, the guards let her in, knowing that she was permitted to enter.

Moving through the small corridor, Komand entered the living room. She found Sul sitting on a sofa in front of TV in half asleep condition.

"Father," she called and the former admiral looked at her.

"Ah, Komand," he greeted, shifting on his seat. "Back from your 'Master's' campaigns?" He asked sarcastically.

Komand sighed, sitting nearby on a soft couch. "When will you stop that?"

"When everything is back to normal," the old man grumbled.

"And by normal you mean how it was before?" Komand asked, crossing her hands.

"Yes."

"You talk about it every time we meet, father. Could at least ask how I am doing," she said bitterly.

Sul sighed. "I'm sorry, my dear. I'm just on edge. I'm sick of sitting here without doing anything."

"But you wanted to retire anyway."

"Does this seem like retirement? I can't even go for a walk, they watch me nonstop. I planned on spending my time fishing or hunting. Not sitting in this room without anything to do. And what about our ancestral mansion near the sea? Has it become public house yet?"

"No," Sul's head turned to her. "It's guarded as usual."

"Eh, nevermind," the old man mumbled. "Where have you been so far?"

"I was in the First Fleet. Phantom leads it against his homeplanet."

"So he doesn't even care about his own people."

"It's not that. His race is...gone from that planet. The remaining ghosts are being treated like non-sentient animals. They are not even slaves. Phantom wants to help his race. Plus, that planet is rich with resources, and the humans haven't even colonized their moon."

"You aren't telling me something," the former admiral said bluntly.

"This is his secret to tell, not mine. Danny wasn't even happy that I got to see his parents."

Her look told Sul that she wasn't going to tell him anything.

"Oh, so he is 'Danny' now, huh?" He narrowed his eyes, not noticing small blush. "Better don't get used to him. One day he will go where he belongs."

"You don't even know anything about what happens outside. You haven't seen what I did. The army respects him because he risks his...life daily along with them."

Her uncertain momentary pause didn't go unnoticed.

"I'm not even talking about casual population. He can't walk out of his palace without being mauled. He seems so helpless at moments like that, his look just begs for help. And how can you think that these people will want to overthrow someone they consider a demigod at the very least?"

"He is an impostor and nothing else."

"Why every our conversation should come to this?!" Komand exclaimed. "You don't know him! He never claimed to be a god. He is mortal, just like all of us," she whispered the last part, not completely sure about it. After all, how could he die if he was already dead?

Even after a few days, Komand still couldn't fully comprehend the fact that Phantom was actually a walking CORPSE. It was...unsettling to say the least. Still, she knew that it will greatly sadden her friend if she treated him differently because of that, nor that Komand planned to. Danny really cared about her opinion for some reason. And him being dead was still shocking and it will take time to come on terms with the idea.

"We will never come to agreement about this," the old man sighed. Despite his major disagreement, he still cared for his daughter. "Alright, let's put these thoughts aside. You said that you have been on his planet. How was it like?"

Komand was glad to change the topic. "I haven't got to see much of it. So far I was in the small town and one major city. The first one was his home, and through the disguise Phantom fooled his own parents into giving their techs for free so he could study them. They are scientists apparently, and judging from their actions, they hate each other's guts."

Komand left out the part when she had to play the role of his wife. Her father would have flipped.

"Why?" Sul asked.

"I don't know details. I found out that they are related just because I saw the photo. After that he gave me an assignment to plant spy bugs in something he called The White House. Phantom said that that is the residence of one of the world leaders. He wanted to know everything what they talk about in the main room. He seemed amused about it for some reason."

"And what he plans to do now?"

Komand raised an eyebrow. Why he was curious all of a sudden?

"I don't know."

-Meanwhile-

A starfighter flew right in front of the bridge front illuminator. Just like the rest of Imperial fleet, the Mk. VI Supremacy-class starfighter visibly remained the same as on the old Sith Empire shematics. Now, pitch black starfighter with white outlines had shielding system, which raised their production price, but the expences were worth it. The ship was relocating to another Harrower, one of many moving into jumping formation.

The Emperor stood behind the illuminator, observing his fleet's movements, with hands behind his back. The crew kept doing their usual tasks, not being distracted by the monarch's presence. His recent orders were to commence an approach to Earth, and for that they had to organize their movements. Hyperspace is a tricky thing, calculations had to be perfect so no ship will be left behind or lost in that subdimension.

Phantom spent the last few days studying his enemy and preparing strategy for the Empire's advance on the planet. The funny was, he watched a lot of movies about alien invasions, and now he was about to complete one. He had called all the commanders to his flagship for final briefing. Most of them already stood behind the Emperor near the holographic projector in silence. Finally, the doors opened and the last captain hurriedly walked into the room.

"Captain Marx, you are late," Phantom greeted without looking back.

"The meeting was supposed to begin half an hour ago," he added, completely calm, slowly turning around and approaching the commander.

In such situations, calm tone always sounded more intimidating than shouting. The captain shifted nervously on his feet under cold neon gaze.

"My Lord, I'm terribly sorry, there was an emergency in my ship's life support system and I had to oversee its repair," he said, bowing slightly.

"Hmm, very well, you are forgiven," the Emperor said. It was a valuable excuse. "But next time inform us beforehand, we have our respective jobs as well," he adviced softly.

Marx sighed quietly in relief, and Phantom ignored this action.

"Anyways, let's get to business, we have no time to waste anymore. Our invasion must be surprising, swift and uncompromising."

"There will be no proposals except the one to surrender. No, I just know this planet and how everything works down there. There are more than hundred states, each with its own interests. That's why there isn't any planetary capital, conquer one of their capitals and the others will keep resisting. But there is no unity between them. Their economy is going into a pit, even if they don't realize it yet. We will strike one fatal blow to their trade and they will crumble by themselves."

Phantom pressed a few buttons on the table, and a holographic image of the planet appeared.

"That's what we are going to do. We must block several straits: Panama, Suez, Persian Strait, Gibraltar, Singapore and English Channel," he pointed at the certain points, which glowed red.

"Most of the world sea trade is based around that regions. If we put the blockade over them, the deadly wound on the economy will be inflicted. A lot of countries will start taking their golden reserves from the most trusted, but small state of Switzerland. We will conquer it before anyone will be able to take money from there. From there, we will just wait until several countries start arguing with each other. The more chaos, the better. However, if they start firing nuclear rockets, take them down. Rockets, I mean."

"Also, the capitals of the strongest countries must be put on edge. Send a few Star Destroyers there, but do not deploy the troops. They will become more trigger-happy when they will be able to see alien ships from their windows. There are two cities I also need under our control. The first one is New-York, world financial center. This city must be taken by our soldiers as well. The second one is Amity park, a small town in a middle of nowhere. I need Hyperion there. Any questions?"

"What shall we do with the ones who try to go through the blockade?"

"Make several warning shots, show them that turbolasers can vaporize them instantly. If they don't turn back, fire at the ships."

"But they are civilians..."

"Admiral," Phantom looked at Pillion. "What purpose does the blockade have? If we let them go through, then what point do we have in keeping our ships there? Warning shots are quite enough, and the Stormtroopers were ordered to fire in stun mode, and not into civilians."

The Admiral nodded slowly. Danny turned to the rest of the crew.

"As for the land forces...have they received their helmets?"

This time Phantom actually needed the Stormtroopers to hide their faces. To protect from bullets the only open area, and not to reveal faces too soon.

"Comment: They look rather amusing," HK said.

"Maybe amusing for you, but imagine how the enemy will react when he finds out that their bullets only bounce off their shiny white and black armor," Phantom rolled his eyes. "I need your talent for killing everyone in sight elsewhere. Commanders, you are dismissed, return to your flagships, and jump as soon as the formation will be complete."

The officers bowed and left the deck. After a few minutes of staring at holographic image, the Emperor turned to leave, ordering his droid to follow.

HK followed his Master through the corridor and towards the elevator.

"Query: Have you discovered anything about the weapons you have acquired?"

"Since the architecture is the same for most of their techs, it wasn't hard to understand their principle," Danny said in bored tone. He really was bored, there was no scientific thrill when he was studying them. "They even put instructions in there. Apparently, they have been only modernizing everything they had, but they still refused to work with unstable ectoplasm. But even then they now can cause considerable damage."

"Flattery: You still make the best weaponry, Master."

"You are going to get more ammo, no need for extra flattery," Danny deadpanned as they stepped out of the elevator.

"Denial: I did no such thing!"

"You just literally stated that you flatter me," Phantom responded. "Anyways, I have a place where you should go, along with the Death Troopers squad. Places, actually. But I don't know yet where they are, so I can't exactly get you there yet. I want them wiped out entirely, they don't expect the Empire to attack them, so we must use the element of surprise. Await my orders for now."

"Question: And where are you going?"

"I'm going to get that information," Phantom answered. "Because I know where one of them is based."

They entered his quarters, where Danny handed his servant a few more capsules with ectoplasm, which HK gladly accepted and went out of the room. Phantom changed into his armored robes, hiding the lightsaber beneath them. Pulling the hood over his face, he teleported back on Earth.

It was a calm night in Amity Park. The Moon was shining in its fullest on the black sky, through the edges between the dark and thick clouds. A fresh after rain wind was ruffling the edges of Danny's cloak. It was the wind of changes. Almost unnoticeable, easy to ignore until the wind grows stronger and unstoppable. Phantom slowly walked to the edge of the building, his rough white boots creating a clanking sound while hitting the concrete roof, and squishy splashes once he stepped into muddy puddle.

On a hill in front of the Emperor's eyes stood a huge gray building, which served both as research and industrial facility. There was a huge letter 'A' with a symbol of atom behind it written in neon, with its name written on the front wall. Axion Labs, the spearhead of new Earth ecto technologies of civillian use. But it was of little interest to the august ghost. It was not what above, but what lied beneath interested him. A secret GIW compound was hidden under seemingly harmless facility. Officially, the GIW were only guarding the facility. The organization wasn't secret by itself, it is what they did. After all, it was the place where Danny died.

Of course, Phantom didn't know exactly where that was. He was taken into facility while being unconscious. He found it rather simply. First, he calculated the time difference between the Earth and Yuthan Prime. Speaking of which, the capital of the Empire was recently renamed into New Babylon. The reason for that was a legend regarding that ancient city, back to the times when nations or different languages didn't exist. It was supposed to show that the Empire was not fighting for dominance of only one race, but for the good of the entire galaxy.

The time difference wasn't big, only two weeks. Then he sat in the nearest internet cafe and searched for the special news. And he found a one year old report about an explosion in Axion Labs. Fentons were the only survivors of the 'ghost attack'. It wasn't far from truth. It could only mean that all that torture was commited there. Phantom let out a quiet sigh, before his look filled with fierce determination. That was the place where everything had begun, and that will be the place where everything will end.

He jumped from the rooftop and landed on his feet. Phantom strolled straight towards the main entrance. His main objective wasn't even getting the information, no, he planned to slaughter them all. He passed through the metal wall. Danny raised his hand and all the security cams were turned into junk balls of metal. He knew that his presence won't remain hidden forever. Their sensors still could detect him on point blank range.

Phantom stood in front of the main doors. With a wave of his hand the metal door flew off its hinges and flew forward. He stepped forward through the doorway, catching the attention of the security. Five GIW agents didn't have time to take their guns, the ghost raised his arm and they fell on the ground, clinging to their throats. Phantom passed the dying agents, not paying the slightest attention to how they fell dead from suffocation.

He searched for an elevator to the lower levels. Phantom didn't bother taking out the lightsaber, even when the alarms went off. Apparently, he missed some cameras. Even better, the ghost reasoned, more will come and more will die. When he turned into following corner, more agents ran from the opposite side. They opened fire, but Phantom simply raised his hand and deflected the upcoming fire with ease, simply flipping the blasts away as if they were just annoying flies. They were weak and pathetic for the ghost of his level. He charged a lighting, and the corridor was filled with screams of pain.

The ghost stepped over fried and unrecognizable corpses, and went further. After several turns he found an elevator, or more precisely, agents entering it rapidly. Phantom didn't have time to do anything, and the doors closed in front of his face. Growling loudly, he swiped his hands and the elevator doors opened. Phantom jumped down inside the shaft. He softly landed right on top of the elevator and waited for it to stop.

The agents ran out of the elevator, knowing that the ghost was going to come down very soon. The corridor was poorly lightened with red blinking lightbulbs. The metal door in its end with a small glass window started to open slowly. Behind it was a pearly white corridor, with even more agents inside.

However, the door opened only slightly, before the lights on the other side turned off, and the door stuck. The agents tried to pull it further, so they will be able to get through, when they heard a metal screech behind. They quickly turned around. A fearful silence was clinging to their souls, as they stared into the dark emptiness. They waited, their hands started to shake and their breathing was becoming raspy and abrupt. The silence was being interrupted only by more metalic sounds.

Then, with a loud whirring sound, a single line of crimson light lightened the opposite end of the corridor, fully showing the wielder of the weapon.

"OPEN FIRE!"

The corridor became a whirlwind of green and red light. Phantom was steadily shortening the distance between them, and with each step he made, their fear was becoming stronger. With each shot they sent his way, with each blast the crimson blade deflected, the more they realized the fate awaiting them. Phantom got to the nearest agent and one motion afterwards, his head rolled on the ground. He walked further, Phantom raised his hand and another agent was thrown up into the low ceiling. Without even bothering to look at him, Phantom left a deadly slash across his chest as he passed him, before the corpse fell on a metal floor.

"HELP US!" the agent was hitting the window in histeria, throwing terrified glances behind him.

Phantom slashed even more of them, coming closer and closer, and two of the agents were left standing. One of them attempted to land at least one shot at the ghost, but Phantom raised his arm and snapped his neck.

The last one's end was one of the most merciful ones. Phantom stabbed his heart, and the blade even went pierced through the door. Grabbing the edge of the locked metal door, he pulled it to the side and pried it open. The agents in the corridor behind ran away from the ghost, hoping to escape the ongoing massacre. Phantom wasn't running after them. Why concern yourself with them? They had no place to run. As this thought crossed his mind, his hand glowed with red light, before he fired at the elevator. An explosion the blast made caused the elevator to fall down the shaft with a loud screeching of metal.

He didn't need the Force to tell him the directions. He remembered those halls, that numerous rooms where multiple crimes were being committed. Phantom slaughtered every agent who was unlucky enough to get on his way to the Overseer's office. He will learn where that rats were hiding, no one will escape the Emperor's wrath. Phantom made a duplicate for another task. He will overload the generators, and this time the explosion will be more devastating.

The ghost protection systems didn't work on him, each shot was deflected, every ghost proof wall and door was cut down by the lightsaber. That morons didn't have anything he didn't know about or what he couldn't blow to pieces. Just as during the day he escaped, Phantom was fueled by his hatred and rage. He was a murderous machine, unstoppable and merciless.

Another corridor and even more agents. A lot of them. At his mere sight, they opened fire. A lightsaber couldn't deflect every shot, Phantom created a shield, which blocked the entire path. He fired an ectoblast and the power wave from the explosion almost blew away the black hood. Phantom walked forward, pulling the hood back, no need to ruin the fun just yet. He stepped over smoking bodies, before hearing a moan. His head snapped towards the only survivor. His face was burned off half way, and his eyes filled with horror.

"P-please, s-spare me," he begged.

Phantom stared down at him.

Without saying a word, the ghost strolled forward, dusting his clothes in the process. He decided against telling him that everything was going to blow up rather soon, let him live for a few more minutes. He opened the door and entered the office. When he stepped inside, however, he was suddenly surrounded by green dome.

"You thought you can just stroll here like it's nothing, scum?!"

The ghost turned to the source of the voice, and gave a fanged smirk.

"On the contrary, Madeline, I expected something more."

He didn't make a move to protect himself. Phantom simply waited for his 'parents' to act. Fentons were pointing a bazooka and a blaster at him.

"Taking a late night shift, Maddie? Underpaid much?" He asked, examining his nails nonchalantly.

"Don't you dare to speak to my wife like this, you ectoplasmic..."

"Manifestation of post-human consciousness. I heard that before, Jack, I thought one year was enough for you to think up something new."

Phantom picked the edge of his hood and pulled it back. The son looked at his parents with blood red eyes, regarding them with a cold look. That was the moment he was waiting for the entire year, and only a thin line of the ectoshield was separating them. Fentons, on the other hand, couldn't find their words, and almost dropped their weapons in shock. It wasn't possible!

"You...you must be DEAD!" Maddie exclaimed, charging the blaster.

Phantom's look remained apathetic. "Thank you, Sherlok, courtesy of yours," he said coldly, crossing his hands.

"YOU, SCUM, WAS SUPPOSED TO BLOW UP!"

"I can say the completely same thing about you. How were you doing? Killed any more children? That's what you really are good at."

"How dare you?!" Jack exclaimed, firing the bazooka. The shot was deflected by the shield and it bounced into the opposite wall, creating a minor explosion.

"The shield works both ways, idiot," Phantom deadpanned. "Your petty shield protects me just as much as you."

He was toying with them, that was completely obvious. And he LOVED it.

"What are you going to do now?" He asked with a teasing smirk. "You locked me down, but can't harm me."

Fentons were silent. The ghost was right, the shield was impenetrable for any kind of ectoenergy. The ghost hunters looked at each other, thinking about what to do. Phantom was getting bored of standing on one place.

"You got old," he commented with fake pity. "And there is no one to give you a glass of water. You killed both of your kids, congratulations!" Phantom clapped.

"WE?! IT IS YOUR FAULT, YOU PIECE OF SLIME!"

"Hm, was that me who decided to use an untested and potentially dangerous weapon? Is it my fault that it had flaws and blew up the entire floor? IS IT MY FAULT YOUR INVENTION KILLED ME?!" Phantom yelled in the end, losing his control for a brief moment.

"You are not our son! You are simply a pile of ectoplasm clinging to his existence! You are an insult to our dead child!"

"Does it change the fact that it's your fault? My heart was still beating when you dissected me, and it stopped right after! Doesn't quite add up, right? You are the ones who didn't care about my friends' lives, when they tried to save me. Who is evil in current situation? I tried to help them, to pull their bodies from beneath burning building. And what have you done? Knocked me out to do your experiments," Phantom shook his head. "I can't believe I used to call the ignorant beasts in front of me 'parents'. You are disgusting and pathetic."

Fentons' hands started to shake in rage. Danny could feel their anger and smirked internally. When they shut down the shield, trying to destroy him, Phantom raised his hand and pulled the weapons from their hands, before firing several ectoblasts. Weak one, he wanted this fun to last longer. Maddie ducked out of the way, while Jack was thrown into another end of the room.

She got closer and engaged in hand to hand combat. When Phantom blocked the hit, he was suddenly zapped with green electricity.

"ARGH!" He yelped and fell on his knees.

Maddie smirked smugly. "How do you like the new specter deflector, Phantom? It doesn't only keep scum like you away, but also straps you of your powers for a few minutes."

"You can't even copy Vlad's techs properly? How low you have fallen."

He suddenly raised his hands and gripped them in midair using the Force. Slowly, he got up.

"I want access codes. Now," Phantom spat as his ruby eyes shone brighter.

"Over my dead body," Maddie choked out. And Phantom's fanged smirk caused a feeling of dread to rise in her stomach.

"Oh, Madeline, I can accomplish your wish."

He clenched his fist, before she yelled in pain as something was crushed inside her chest. Jack's eyes widened in horror, but his voice was blocked by the force gripping his throat.

"Here goes your kidney. I can continue further, you know? If you don't die from the inner bloodloss, that is," Phantom grinned, pulling an access card from the pocket of her blue jumpsuit.

He walked to the computer, taking out the flash drive from his pocket. He entered the card and downloaded all the required information he needed into the flash drive. Phantom turned back to the humans hanging under the ceiling, before dropping them on the ground.

"Mads!" Jack moved closer to his wife, who was panting in exhaustion, and sat on his knees.

"Her death is inevitable. Just like yours," Phantom said nonchalantly. "How does it feel to lose the people you care about?"

"We did care about our children. And we lost them," Jack mumbled.

"Maybe. But your ignorance was the reason of your downfall. You let your hatred of ghosts to get the best of you. Did you really think that your crimes will remain unpunished? You should have died when I blew up the facility. I want you to see something before your deaths."

Phantom snapped his fingers and made a portal, before throwing them inside.

The portal led to the roof of facility. The storm clouds became thicker, the thunder sounded on the distance. The wind became stronger, and you could even hear its streams. Phantom looked down at the humans.

"I want you to see what this world soon will become," he said.

"STAND DOWN, GHOST!"

Raising his eyebrow, Phantom glanced to the side. Apparently, the GIW had called reinforcements. Several jets were floating in the air, while more troops were deployed on the rooftop. Maddie grinned weakly from her place.

"Looks like you lost, Phantom."

Danny heard a low beep inside of his robes. He laughed loudly.

"You don't get it, do you, Maddie? The truth is..."

He swiped his hand and the sky cleaned from the clouds hiding it. And what everyone saw, made them freeze in shock. An enormous ship was flying above them.

"The game was rigged from the start."


	20. Chapter XX: The Emperor's allies

When Komand came out of hyperspace near Pluto, she realized that the First Fleet had relocated from its starting positions. Knowing only one place where they could go, Komand set course to Earth and understood that her suspicion was correct. Most of the ships were flying around the planetary orbit, completely ignoring the debris around, but still avoiding contact with ridiculously looking space station. However, no matter how hard she tried to look, Komand couldn't find Hyperion.

The apprentice pressed a few buttons and contacted one of the Star Destroyers. The communication officer responded and his hologram appeared.

"Greetings ma'am, what's the reason of this call?"

"I need to know where the Emperor is."

"His Majesty's ship is at these coordinates. I'll mark it on your map."

Komand nodded and the transmission was over. She flew into the planetary atmosphere and rather soon she was above Amity Park. The sky was free of any clouds, and the Emperor's pitch black flagship stood out in the clean blue sky. Once she approached the ship and received a permission to land, Komand moved her ship in one of the hangers and didn't wait long to leave it. She walked down the corridors, knowing that her Master could be only in two places: his room and the bridge. Since the former was closer, Komand decided to check it out first.

When she got a few floors higher, the apprentice saw HK, who was standing near the door of Danny's room. Komand couldn't hear what he was saying, so she walked closer.

"What's going on?" The apprentice asked.

HK turned to her.

"Explanation: Ever since we have taken over that town beneath us, Master hadn't left his quarters and is still refusing to come out."

Raising her eyebrow, Komand knocked at the door.

"Danny, it's me, can you open the door?" She asked.

"No," a curt voice was heard through the piece of metal.

"I'm not going anywhere, Phantom. Open the door or I'll find the way to open it."

"God, you are persistent," Danny knew that she will go along with her threat. "HK, you may go, let us talk alone."

HK nodded and walked off, before the door was unlocked and Komand was able to enter it. She wasn't expecting what she saw. Danny was lying on the sofa, with numerous bottles scattered on the floor nearby. It was obvious what kind of liquids was present inside of them not so long ago.

"You know," Danny murmured, shaking the bottle in his hand. "In moments like this I hate my immunity to toxins. I can't even get drunk and knock myself out."

"What happened?" She asked quietly, sitting nearby. To cause such a reaction from him of all people...

"I killed them, Komand," Danny said bluntly, making a gulp.

"But isn't it what you wanted all along?"

"I did. But for some reason, I feel weird."

He was about to make another gulp, when Komand slapped the bottle out of his hands. It fell on the floor and shattered.

"Stop whining right now, and tell me why you are like that."

"This is what I planned to do, didn't I?"

Komand blushed in embarrassment at his words. She may have overreacted a bit. Danny sighed.

"When I planned to kill them, I had a purpose, something to work towards. Now," he shrugged. "They are gone. Exterminated, shot down like coward dogs they are. After all, even if they were rare pieces of shit, they still were my parents. I remembered several good episodes of my childhood, that rare moments when they decided to pay any attention to me. I...I couldn't bring myself to inflict finishing blow, even if they were dying by my hand already. At the moment, they were unarmed, helpless. Somewhere deep inside...I knew it was wrong, even after what they did. I could feel all the hatred and rage burning inside of me, and this act could finish my turn to the Dark Side. But thank goodness, I prevented myself from doing it personally. Instead of inflicting further damage, I ordered the soldiers to execute them. Swiftly and painlessly."

"I still don't see the problem," Komand mumbled.

"I didn't expect you to understand," Danny looked on the ground. "And I don't mean that I doubt your intelligence. You grew up in a loving and rich family. And even if your Dad wants my pelt on his wall, I still can clearly see that he cares about you. Look at me, though. I'm barely an adult, who has mental traumas no one knows about. The act of dying is not something you can forget. My parents killed me, slowly and painfully in front of my eyes. They hated me after I became a ghost."

"And...I so strived to take my revenge, so it became a meaning of my existence. And now, I have lost this meaning."

Komand's eyes widened in horror. "Don't you dare to say such things!" She exclaimed, grabbing his hands. "What about all the people you rule over?"

"You are mistaking the meaning of life and responsibility," Danny tried to pull away, but found himself unable to. "While that's truth that it was me who took the burden of Imperial Crown, it just feels like it is supposed to. With each day it does more and more. What will happen if I dissappear suddenly? What will happen with the Empire I created? After all, I can be killed. I'll keep doing what's the best for my citizens, but..."

"And nobody asks more from you," Komand said softly. "Please, stop worrying about it. They hated you, and by being like that you only make them laugh from the Underworld. They would have wanted you to suffer even after you got rid of them. Do you want to give them a reason to be happy?"

Danny smiled weakly. "You are getting better, maybe one day you will become my speechwriter."

Komand smirked, before nudging him slightly. "Don't dream about it, snowhead. I'll use my talent for something better."

"As you say, Komy, as you say," Phantom mumbled. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. The crew is worried, you better make an appearance."

With that Komand walked out of the room, leaving the ghost alone.

However, despite a pep talk, a nagging feeling was still present in his stomach. He just couldn't overstep such problem by snap of the fingers, or even after the friend's help. And Komand was right, he had an Empire to lead, even despite his depression. Later that evening he was already receiving a report from his subordinates in this same room.

"Your plans had been put into completion, My Lord," the officer reported. "The blockade shows its first economical results, Amity Park is secured. New York also had fallen with minimal losses on our side. Switzerland had lost its primary cities after our attacks, but on the outside the resistance forces and the landscape are making it complicated to move further and deeper inside the state. Shall we send more Star Destroyers down there? Our soldiers might need more supplies."

"Yes, five more should be enough. I want it conquered by the end of the week. How the other countries are reacting?"

"Differently, Your Majesty. Some had already surrendered and are awaiting for their fate. Most of them did nothing, probably too afraid to act when our ships are flying above their capitals. One small Asian country launched nuclear rockets at us. Deflectors did their jobs well. We are not sure, however, how to respond on humans' airstrikes. What are your orders?"

"Do nothing as long as no harm is done to the ships or land forces. What about the GIW remnants?"

"Scattered and disorganized. HK-47 and the Death Corps are cleaning up what is left."

"Splendid. We are in condition of war with the US, so I guess we can strike at Area 51. I want to check out if the rumors are true and they really are examining aliens there. If they do, we will return them home."

The Yuth officer shivered. He didn't want to know the truth.

"My Lord, may I ask you a question?"

Raising his eyebrow, Phantom nodded.

"Are you going to reveal yourself down there? The soldiers are complaining about wearing the helmets 24/7."

"If I recall correctly, they take different shifts, and nothing is said about wearing them once aboard the ship. There is nothing I can do, I'm afraid. Dismissed...Actually," he stopped the officer from leaving. "One more thing. I need some of the Death Troopers on this ship to be ready for departure. I need to visit one place and I could use extra hands. Also, call Komand as well."

The officer bowed. "Understood, My Lord."

A few minutes later Phantom was already standing in front of four Death Troopers, wearing his official 'royal' clothes. The Death Troopers were wearing completely black armor and closed helmets with green vizors. They also had black shoulder capes and two handed blaster rifles, which could switch between the singular mode and automatic mode fit for any situation. The Death Troopers were completely loyal to their Emperor, and what was the most important thing - they were highly skilled professionals, who were sent into the most important missions of the Empire.

Komand joined soon after, running into the hangers and panting after long run.

"Couldn't you tell me sooner? NOT forcing me to run two miles?" She asked.

The soldiers never could understand how was she able to talk with the EMPEROR in such tone, and what was more confusing - how she got away with it. Some people, on the other hand, noted that they often were spotted together, which led to quite logical, but just as wrong conclusion. Still, no one dared to say it in their faces.

"I did, but you still were on the other end of the ship. Anyways, follow me."

Phantom made a portal through which the group walked to the surface. Phantom pulled on the hood again, and Komand followed the gesture. The group walked through the streets of Amity Park, calling a lot of attention from the terrified bypassers. They scrambled away, but some were actually intrigued, in a fearful way. So far they had only seen the Stormtroopers, now there were two space wizards wearing dark robes and the soldiers wearing all black. What caused even more confusion is how high ranking soldiers, who were on patrol at the time, stood still at his mere sight. Just who was that man under the cloak?

Komand recognized the district they were in. Her eyes widened slightly, why was he leading them there? Sure enough, they had reached the FentonWorks building. And, technically being the sole inheritor of the wealth, Phantom had no moral restrictions while knocking down the door.

"Move to the basement, it's behind the kitchen," Phantom ordered, taking off the hood.

Komand took off hers, as the Death Troopers went downstairs. She noticed how Danny flipped the family photo face down. He looked at his apprentice and put a finger over his mouth, and the universal message was received clearly. Together they went downstairs. Komand admitted that the lab looked very much like Danny's, just more messy. Oh, wait, there was a half decayed dissected corpse. Komand's face became green.

"Oh, gods, I'm going to hurl," she mumbled, turning away.

Phantom quietly walked to the vivisection table. He looked at those lifeless eyes full of terror, before closing the eyelids.

"That's why they deserved their fate, Komand," Danny whispered soberly.

He then walked to the rectangular shaped machine at the opposite end of the room. Everyone followed him with their eyes, curious about what he was going to do.

"Alright...338...no it wasn't it. 1208? No, that's not it, too," Danny was muttering under his nose.

"1990?" Finally he received a positive beep and the doors slid open.

"What is that thing?" Komand asked curiously.

"Remember how I told you that my race had left the Earth? Well, this is where they went. The Ghost Zone, my second and true home. I plan on finding a few of my...past acquaintances there and bring them under the wing of the Empire. But I must warn you, follow each my word, and do as I say, that world doesn't obey any of the laws of physics. Come now."

The Death Troopers followed the Emperor inside, and Komand was next.

That dimension really amazed her. That place really didn't add up with what she got used to. A sky, if she could call it the sky, was a swirling mass of green, black and purple. Several doors were floating in the air, and they were standing on a lifeless rock. Danny put a hand on his chin and hummed.

"Alright, follow me and watch your steps, gravity here still works and the black hole in the bottom isn't the best place to stay."

The accompanying group followed their leader, who seemed very confident in his sense of direction. The Death Troopers were professionals, they weren't gazing around like a five year old kid. Unlike Komand. She was interested in everything that got on their way. She found one of that strange doors which was on the ground level. She put her hand on its handle, but was stopped when Danny put his palm on top of hers.

"I don't recommend you to do it. Ghosts don't like intruders," he warned.

Komand slowly nodded and removed her hand. "So, they have homes behind those doors?"

"Lairs, to be more precise. It depends on the person, some have entire islands in their disposal, like me. Though, I don't exactly know where it is."

"And where are we going exactly?"

"I know one person, and knowing that he doesn't tolerate things from another world being brought here...I'm surprised he hadn't found us yet."

It was hard to describe the reaction coming from the apprentice when she saw a building in front of them. It looked like a prison, a huge gray building behind tall concrete walls, with several watchtowers, projectors and electrified barbwire. Phantom calmly approached the main gates.

"I guess I should knock," he murmured, before hitting the metal doors a few times.

They soon opened, revealing a policeman dressed in gray uniform, with green skin, red eyes and spectral tail instead of his legs. in his hand he held a police baton, but he was eyeing the guns in the Death Troopers' hands with a little fear. His eyes turned to the Emperor, before they became as wide as saucers. Before he could say something, Phantom raised his hand.

"I'm here to meet with the warden," he said calmly. "And make it quick."

The guard nodded and disappeared behind the doors. He really was quick, the doors soon opened.

"Follow me," he said.

While the visitors were passing through the small path, the prisoners around crowded near the net walls, which stood by two sides of it. Everyone stared in shock at the stark haired man. Of course they were, every ghost thought that Phantom was a goner. They then noticed Komand and his escort. The Death Troopers kept their formation firm, giving off clanking sound with each step and earning confused and wary glances.

Komand was meanwhile curiously observing the obvious prisoners. If she wasn't told beforehand, she would have never assumed them to be of the same specie. A specie of undead spirits, but still. That made her wondering if the 'Ghost Zone' had any government. There obviously was a prison, so some jurisdiction must have existed. And while they walked through another prison block, Komand increased her pace and got to her Master, before asking that question.

"Well, there used to be," Danny explained. "Now this world exists in peaceful anarchy. The Ghost Zone gives them everything they might need, so it leaves no reason for conflicts. But before that it was ruled by the Ghost Kings. They were the most powerful ghosts, and often the most vicious ones. The last King ended rather badly. Locked inside Sarcophagus of Eternal Sleep, without any chance of breaking out."

Ignoring Komand's stunned look, Phantom kept following their guide without a slightest worry, his pearly white cape flowing behind him. Soon they got to the secluded room, and entered it. Behind the wooden desk was sitting a person. He had skin white as paper list, green eyes without pupils, and was wearing black hat, along with white suit.

"Well, well, well, little punk waltzes in my hands by himself," he said sarcastically. The man looked up from his papers and narrowed his eyes at the sight. "Arrest him," he commanded.

The Death Troopers only needed a glance from their leader to stand down. Komand was about to take out the lightsaber, but Danny stopped her.

"Glad to see you too, Walker," Danny sat on a chair in front of him. "I don't think you will be able to arrest me. If those armed guys behind me have anything to say about it," he pointed towards the soldiers.

Even if Walker was a bit intimidated by them, he didn't remove his scowl. "There are about two hundred men against four of them."

"You forgot me and my dear apprentice," Danny kept grinning.

Raising his eyebrow, Walker looked at Komand. "Apprentice? What do you have to teach, punk?"

"Escaping from unescapeable prisons for example..."

Judging from Walker's expression, he just hit the sore spot.

"What are you here for?" The warden asked.

"To make a proposal," Danny leaned forward. "Your prison is positioned in a lifeless wasteland, which is another dimension, and there is only one way out which can be easily guarded. I want to employ your services."

Walker hit the table in his fit of uncontrolled laughter. "Employ me?!" He said between his breaths. "What happened to your brains, punk?"

"I'm completely sane, Walker. And I need a place where to throw the worst prisoners."

"Since when do you throw the ghosts into prison?"

"Not only ghosts. Humans, aliens, it doesn't matter. The entire planet will soon be mine, and I have to get rid of the opposition to my rule. I have my own army, these are only my personal escort. In case you think something funny."

Walker snorted. "And where did you take this 'army'?"

"I have my ways. My army armed with superior alien techs is holding several important territories. Humans will soon fall on their knees."

Walker would have laughed, but the Death Troopers tapped on their guns behind the Emperor's back. Walker had to admit, they didn't look like something humans could have. Suddenly the warden realized that he was cornered and outnumbered.

"Let's suggest I believe you. How do I benefit from it?"

"You will be fulfilling your obsession," Danny shrugged. "You will be a jailer, and even executioner sometimes. But, you will do everything according to the Imperial Jurisdiction Comitee decisions."

"A what?"

"The only difference is a pafos name. It is a simple court, which accomplishes all its branches' purposes. Except that, you will remain autonomous and we will not interfere in your arrands. I don't plan to expand in the Ghost Zone. I know you want to arrest me, but what's better? Get me or hundreds of others?"

Walker didn't respond.

"Get lost, punk."

Danny raised his eyebrow. "What just like that? I'm not going to take no for an answer."

"Get. Out."

Phantom got up from his seat and stormed away. Poor Walker didn't know one thing - What the Emperor can't acquire by negotiations, he acquires with force.

-Later-

"So, what now?" Komand asked.

For some reason, Danny dismissed his soldiers and ordered them to return the path they went, and it confused the apprentice. He will take that jail by storming it with the Stormtroopers. But they had a lot of time in their disposal.

"This should be easier. The Far Frozen are my old friends, and I don't want to come to their home armed to teeth."

"That's a weird name," she commented.

"Which reminds me, they may look intimidating, but don't judge the book by its cover."

As they walked further, Komand kept feeling colder and colder. The landscape around kept becoming barer and barer. If before were at least dark and lifeless trees, then now it was only black ground. On the distance she could see a white snowy landscape. After a while Komand could see her breath, and soon after started to shiver. She started hugging herself in order to warm herslef up. Danny noticed her discomfort, and his eyes widened.

"Damn, I forgot. You don't have cold resistance," he muttered, approaching her. "I'm so sorry, should have brought warm clothes."

He took her smaller hands into his and rubbed them, not noticing her reddening face. "Here, take this on," Phantom said softly.

Danny uncapped the cape and wrapped it around his friend. Komand smiled gratefully at him, shifting the cape more comfortably on her shoulders. The two kept walking forward, until their boots started crunching the soft snow. Komand was actually curious about seeing it, Babylon didn't have any snow, or winter, hence the constant tropical climate. She scooped a patch of white substance and instantly dropped it, shivering slightly.

"Have you ever seen snow?" Danny asked in bewilderment. Komand shook her head slowly.

"It burns. How is this possible?"

Danny smiled softly, "Well, you will have plenty of time to get accustomed to it. Actually, there they are."

He pointed towards a small cloud on the distance, which usually happened when a speeder was moving. It was hard to make out who exactly that was because of that same cloud. But when they moved closer, Komand's eyes widened at how weird the situation looked. The speeders were built so the rider was standing, not sitting. However, the three riders were the most catchy thing. They were huge, about eight feet tall. The beings' faces had canine traits and ice horns on top of their heads. The one in front had the most distinctive features. Instead of his right arm, he had a piece of ice, without muscles or skin, only with bones being seen through.

Danny was right, Komand assumed, they did look intimidating, even without ice spears in their hands. Their claws seemed much more effective. The being in front approached them, and when he saw Danny, a huge grin appeared on his face.

"Great One!" He exclaimed, before enveloping Danny in a bear hug.

Komand reached for the lightsaber, but then stopped, snickering at Phantom's pained expression.

"Nice to see you too, Frostbite," Danny choked out. "Please, this is painful," he whimpered.

"I know, it pained us too, that you were absent for so long!" Frostbite said joyfully, hugging him even tighter.

"That's not what I meant!"

"Oh," the ghost let go of Danny. "My apologies, Great One."

Frostbite turned to Komand, raising his furry eyebrow.

"And who is your new friend?" Frostbite asked.

"Well, this is Komand, she is my apprentice. Komand, this is Frostbite, the Chieftain of Far Frozen."

"Please, without hugs," she begged.

Frostbite roared with laughter. "As you wish. Friends of the Great One are our friends. Let's continue our conversation in the village!"

They walked to the speeders and situated on them, before driving further into the frozen wasteland. Soon they have arrived into the settlement. Komand seemed amused at the surroundings. The yeti-like ghosts seemed to have advanced technologies, which were probably the reason of the Emperor's visit. And yet, they obviously lived in tribes, and their settlements were series of disorganized huts. Once there, they walked on their feet, following Frostbite.

Another interesting thing she noted was that the bypassers seemed joyous to see Phantom again. Whatever he did for them, it was big. And that title Frostbite had called him...Her musings were interrupted when the chieftain decided to speak.

"So, what brings you here after all this time?" He asked the stark haired man.

Danny sighed. "I'll be honest, Frostbite. This isn't just a friendly visit."

Frostbite's smile wavered a bit. "Whatever it is, we will be glad to assist you, Great One. But first, we must throw a feast to celebrate your return! If you don't mind of course."

"It will be rather impolite to disagree. Just don't take too long, please, I have some matters to attend to."

"Worry not, the preparations will be made in no time. Until then, we shall discuss the matters you want to talk about."

Frostbite gave a few commands, while Danny looked at Komand. He noticed that her skin was now a color similar to human white shade. It wasn't a good sign.

"Hey, how about you go to the warm place while we talk?" He asked, before receiving a nod.

Phantom led his apprentice inside the big hall. The Far Frozen were really quick, especially for someone that size. When two Force Users entered it, they were already fussing around. Danny led Komand to the fireplace, which seemed like the only warm place in the entire building. Komand sat on a furry armchair, using the white cape as blanket. When Danny went out of the hall, Frostbite was already waiting for him.

"Who exactly is this young lady?" He asked as they started to walk.

"Our first interaction was rather nasty. But we get along now, I'm teaching her some abilities."

"Is she a ghost? We didn't sense as such."

"No, she isn't. I'm teaching her how to fight and also the secrets of the Force."

"What is this?"

"I won't go into details, but in short...this is something which gives mortals their own powers. My case is rather unique, because I'm dead and yet I have those abilities."

"Hm, interesting," Frostbite rubbed his chin. "Anyways, what brings you here?"

"Well, the Empire may need loyal friends like you. It needs a foothold in the Ghost Zone in order to get ectoplasm."

"What Empire are we talking about?"

"The Empire led by me, of course. It has almost expanded on the eighth part of the Galaxy. Not so big yet, but the expansion goes on."

"I'm extremely impressed, Great One," Frostbite said, and his tone left no doubt about what he said. "But we can't agree on that. Our lands must remain untouched, that were the words of our ancestors, and we intend to keep it that way."

"I understand, Frostbite. We will not excavate ectoplasm on your territory. We just need assistance, in case if our facilities will be attacked and the Stormtroopers won't be able to hold the enemies back. Our workers will be in need of resources, and finally, we need to establish stable communications. In exchange we will protect your borders as well. I recall that that fire cored ghosts are being quite persistent, are they still?"

"Yes, sadly. If that's the case, we agree on such proposal, Great One."

Danny smiled. "There is one last thing, though. What do you think about technological exchange? You will share your techs, we give you ours."

"I see no harm in that."

"Thank you, my friend. So, how were you doing while I was absent?"

For a few more hours they wandered around the village, all the while receiving happy greetings. Danny sighed contently each time. It was nice to be surrounded by old friends. As the technical sky above the Far Frozen was getting darker, the people were gathering around the main hall. On the street and on the inside people seemed to have fun. Booze and food was everywhere, and the guests weren't able to comprehend how were they able to cook that much in so little time.

Komand was baffled the most. She didn't have any time to ask what made the yeti like ghosts to warship Phantom even more than most of his own subjects. Again, they were too busy with preparations and she wasn't too keen to interrupt them from their jobs. However, Komand was an observant person. She could see how nice that people were, but she couldn't make out if it was because of her friendship with Danny, or because of their general nature.

At the moment she was just enjoying a delicious meal made from some Earth bird, along with a strange, but tasty red liquid. Phantom was sitting near her all along, eating as well. They didn't say much words to each other, being too busy with the activities. Suddenly, Danny got up, holding a golden goblet in his hand.

"My dear friends," he started saying, with a big smile on his face. Komand could see that it was genuine, but somewhat still forced. His moodiness was still present. "There are no words to describe how happy I am to be present here again, and I'm sure my friend Komand is too. And I don't think I'll ever receive such a warm welcome anywhere but here. And for that I thank you. All the friendly actions of your tribe will never be forgotten, I assure you about that. But, I believe it is time to make our friendship even stronger. Today we celebrate not only our reunion, but also the alliance between the Far Frozen and the New Sith Empire I represent. So," Danny raised his hand with a goblet. "For old and new strong friendships!"

With that everyone cheered and drank their drinks.

After a few more hours Danny was sitting on an armchair in front of the fireplace, deep in thought. It was unknown what he had in mind, but Komand approached him.

"Whatcha doin'?" She asked.

"Just thinking. Nothing much."

"Got that right, nothing much," Komand sat on an armchair too. The main problem, Danny was between Komand and her seat.

Phantom's eyes widened in surprise.

"Uhm, Komand, what are you doing?" He asked with green cheeks, as she put her head on his shoulder, while sitting on his knees.

"Sleepin'," she mumbled with closed eyes.

Danny understood what was going on. "You are drunk," he stated the fact.

"No, I'm sleepy," Komand whined.

"Ugh," Phantom grunted. Despite how cute the situation was, she was sitting on him in rather peculiar position. "How can I convince you to let me get up?"

"Kiss me."

That left Danny thunderstuck. He turned to her with eyes as wide as sausers, but only found her snoring loudly in his shoulder. Sighing and shaking off extra thoughts, Danny picked her up bridal style and walked towards the bedroom. When Danny was half human, he still needed sleep, so the Far Frozen had made him own room. Walking inside, he gently put her in the bed and moved the blanket over her. He then saw a fireplace with a few logs in it, before firing a low powered ectoblast, igniting the logs.

Phantom gave the last final look at his apprentice, before smiling slightly and closing the door behind him. Apparently he was going to stay here for a night.

Suddenly, he heard rapid footsteps. One of the Far Frozen approached the stark haired man.

"Great One, I was sent here by Frostbite."

"What's the reason?"

"He didn't want to discuss it on public. You see, when we heard that both yours and Plasmius' secrets were out and that you both were presumed dead, we tried to take as much Plasmius' techs and projects he had. One in particular...she must be approved before being released."

"She?"


	21. Chapter XXI: The heiress of the Empire

Phantom hurriedly followed the Far Frozen denizen through the icy caves lying beneath the main hall. They served not only the purpose of hidden research facilties, but also a hideout, which meant that the path was very tricky and bizarre, so the invading enemy would get lost and the yeti ghosts would have time to escape. Their path was lightened by several diode lamps hanging from the ceiling, their light reflecting from the ice walls.

All the while Danny's mind was racing on rapid speed. The messenger hadn't shared much information, and the young man was left to his own assumptions. What did he mean by that? And what insane idea could come to Vlad's fruitloopish mind this time?

The ghost led Phantom inside one of the doors, inside poorly lightened room. It wasn't big, there were several chairs and one lab table. Near one wall stood something hidden behind black clothing. However, Danny could see a weak green light coming from behind the cover. Frostbite was sitting nearby, all the while glancing at the hidden object.

"Alright, Frostbite, what's going on?" Danny asked, crossing his hands.

"I'm sorry to interrupt the celebration, Great One. But it was the best moment to discuss this matter, when everyone is outside."

"Get closer to the topic, please."

The chieftain looked at the messenger. "Leave us."

As the messenger went out of the room, the door shut behind him, Phantom tapped on the ground, before looking at the hidden object. Taking a deep sigh, he touched and grabbed the clothing, before pulling it down. He didn't know what he expected to see, but it certainly wasn't what stood in front of his eyes. A large glass tube, filled with greenish water, probably because of added ectoplasm. But it wasn't what made Danny jump slightly in surprise.

There was a body, situated near the top. Small and fragile body, which could belong only to a three year old. Judging from...special traits, it was a girl. So that's who the messenger meant by 'she'. The girl was breathing through the special mask on her face. And all the nutrients were obviously received from ectoplasm in the water. Smart decision. If she is at least a half ghost. A human, especially that young, would have died because of literally swimming in the ectoplasm. Danny raised his eyebrow at that thought. Frostbite rose from his seat and approached the Emperor from behind.

"We have changed breathing masks so they will fit her as she grew. When we found her one year ago, the girl was on a stage of a newborn toddler. My decision was to contain her and maintain proper life conditions, at least until your return. I had a hope that you are still alive somewhere. In a way, at least."

Danny wasn't moving his eyes from the girl. "Who are you, little one?" He mumbled.

"I have answer for that, Great One. When we moved the girl here, we took a DNA sample. Also, when we discovered that she was starting to form a ghostly core, we made an ectosignature scan. It was truly fascinating. We have never seen a newborn halfa and its growth," Frostbite coughed. "Apologies, got off topic. My point is, we also have your scans ever since Undergrowth ordeal. And...they almost entirely match."

Phantom's eyes were ready to jump out of his eyes. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Apparently, she is your clone."

Danny dropped on a chair, his mind going completely numb. Taking a deep breath, Phantom looked at Frostbite.

"H-how?! I...I don't even know what to think!" He jumped from his seat and paced around. "I know Vlad was a fruitloop, but to actually CLONE ME? How is this even possible...that's insane, ridiculous! Wait...why is my clone a GIRL?"

"Are you aware about genetic aspects?"

Frostbite received a shake of Danny's head.

"Very well, we have been studying the reasons of such strange situation. While having similar genetic structure, she follows typical laws of biology. All males have one X chromosome and one Y chromosome. And obviously, your sample did have Y chromosome at first. We suspect it happened because Plasmius lacked the required genetic material. Because you can't make an embryo with only male seed. And since Plasmius didn't have female materials, he relied on ectoplasm and the ghosts' birth process."

"I hope you aren't going to give me a ghost version of 'birds and bees' talk."

Frostbite barked a laugh. "Don't worry, I won't go into details. I'll say only that impregnation is similar, but development goes differently. Ghosts' cores consist pure ectoplasm. However, ectoplasm can be purified artificially, and that's precisely what Plasmius has done. Ghosts don't have any chromosomes at all, by the way..."

Danny waved his hand, urging his friend to skip that part.

"We are not sure, however, how he managed to pull this off, but when the embryo was formed, somehow Y chromosome was replaced by special axid in the ectoplasm which determines gender, and this is exactly what happened. It was a gamble, and it just so happened to be an equivalent of X chromosome, forming a XX combination, and so, this is a girl."

"Alright, that part aside," Danny mumbled.

Phantom looked at the sleeping girl in the tube. A thought occurred in his mind. She was all alone. Vlad, her creator, was dead. The girl had no family, she was artificially created even without a consent of the one she had her genes from...Alright, that sounded unusual. But the statement itself had a small tip.

"I trust you will make the right decision," Frostbite said, turning to go out of the room. "After all, the girl will need her father."

Danny was left alone with the baby, staring in shock at where the chieftain once stood. Father? He couldn't be a father, he was eighteen years old! He didn't know a thing about raising a child, especially an obvious half ghost. More than that, he was the Emperor, he barely had any time for himself. Still...The young man looked at the girl again. His eyes widened slightly when he sensed something. Not only the baby was a half ghost, she was a Force Sensitive as well. She really was like him.

Phantom looked sadly at her. What will be awaiting her if he disagrees, though? She will only spend the eternity in that tube, because being half ghost grants eternal life as well. How that can be called even an existence? No, it wasn't existence, and it certainly wasn't life. Danny's look filled with determination. He didn't care if he was going to fall down from exhaustion, he wasn't about to doom a little innocent thing to rot away in the jar. It wasn't her fault, she didn't deserve it, she never asked to be made by a crazy nutjob.

Making his hands intangible, Danny phased his hands through the glass and carefully picked the girl, before taking off restraints and breathing mask. He quickly took her out and now was holding the girl in his wet arms. Water dripped from her body and she cuddled into ball. Phantom used his cape again and wrapped the child in soft clothing, before sitting on another chair. He smiled softly at the baby girl. His baby girl.

Suddenly she started to stir and move. She opened her eyes and they widened in fright as she started to shake. The girl tried to pull away, but found herself unable to. She was wrapped in covers and Danny wasn't about to let her fall on the ground.

"Lemme go!" She cried in fear.

"Hey, calm down, baby girl," Danny said.

Somehow the girl was able to squirm out of his hands, but Phantom had enough time to lower her to the ground. She then tried to get away, but stumbled and fell on metal ground. Danny's eyes widened in horror, before he carefully picked up the girl, who started crying because she was hurt.

"Shh," Danny whispered. "Everything is alright, stop crying, please. Daddy is with you."

The girl stopped on her tracks and finally turned her red face at him. And again Phantom noticed how alike they were. The girl had shoulder long and wet stark white hair, and her eyes had the same neon shade as Danny's, emmiting typical glow. Phantom chuckled, the expression on her face was just too adorable to resist the smile.

"You...you are my...Daddy?"

Danny smiled softly, and nodded. "Well, you have my nose," he said, before poking on her little nose.

The girl giggled, her fear being forgotten. Then her look turned hopeful, filled with childish innocence. Seeing that she was shy to act, Danny gave her a hug, in order to wave away all her concerns. The girl's eyes widened, before she grinned happily and hugged her father and nuzzled against his neck, releasing both of her hands from under the cape and covering the young man in even more water. But Danny didn't care, he just held his child tightly. How could he ever consider leaving her? One hug was enough for Danny to accept parenthood. And there was no going back now.

"Hey," the girl looked up at his words, with joyous smile on her face. "You don't have a name, do you?" Phantom asked.

She scrutinized her eyes and pouted in thought, before shaking her head, spreading water around with her long locks.

"Hmm, you have a unique chance, then. You get to pick your own name. Do you want to?"

The girl grinned even wider than before and nodded rapidly. "Yes, yes, yes!" She jumped on his knees in excitement.

"Woah, easy there, I'm going to be all wet. So, how about...Lilith?"

The girl shook her head. "No."

"Alright...Elizabeth?"

"Don't wanna."

"Catherine?"

"Wha?"

About thirty names later Danny sighed in exasperation.

"Danielle?"

The girl perked up and nodded. Danny raised his eyebrow.

"Seriously? I was just kidding," he said with a deadpan expression on his face.

His daughter only giggled loudly, and Danny couldn't help but smile, too. Yep, she was the most adorable little thing.

"Oh, so you like funny faces, huh?" Phantom asked, before making a grimace. Her laughter filled the room again.

"Okay, if you like this name so much, Danielle it is. Let's go now, we better dress you in something. It's cold down here."

With that Danny got up from his seat, shifting a hold on his daughter. That sounded better each time he thought about it. He walked out of the room and through the corridor he came there. Danielle snuggled closer into his shoulder, feeling safe near him. Well, she was right, in a few minutes with her Danny already became attached to the baby girl. He won't let anyone harm her.

"...Da...Daddy?" She asked nervously.

"Yes, sweetheart?" Danny looked down and gave her a smile, showing that she had nothing to be afraid of.

"I'm hungry," she mumbled.

"Hmm, maybe there is something left in a kitchen."

Danny changed direction and walked up in the kitchen. The room was empty, but it was already cleaned up by the Far Frozen. Phantom put Danielle on a chair, shifting her cover to be more comfortable. Her father searched around for any food. Danny knew that it must be something light, technically, she was just born. Plus, she had never eaten in her life, so her stomach was very small. Phantom found jam and bread, so he made a small sandwich and gave it to her.

"Thank you!" Danielle said politely, causing an adoring smile to crawl up on Danny's face.

She was still wet and her only cover was white cape, but her father's ice core allowed her to ignore the subzero temperatures around. Danny patiently waited until she was done with a small smile on his face. Danielle dropped backwards on the chair, covered in crumbs after she was done and burped. Phantom narrowed his eyes playfully, crossing his hands.

"Now, young lady, this is not the attitude of a princess," he scolded her.

Danielle perked up. "Princess?" she asked with excitement.

Danny smiled. "Well, yes, I'm a 'King', so that makes you a princess, kiddo."

He decided against explaining to the three years old how a title of the Emperor was different from a title of the King, do he sticked to the latter. Still, it seemed that Vlad somehow implanted some knowledge inside of her. She was able to speak, after all.

"Yuppie!" Danielle exclaimed happily, jumping in the air.

Danny caught her in midair and wrapped in the cape again.

"Alright, now where can we find clothes...I think Frostbite will do us a favor."

Danny picked Danielle up and she seemed content on being carried again. The small girl put her head on his shoulder.

"Who's Fros...bai..."

"Frostbite, sweetie. He is my old friend and he is the one who brought you to me. He is a big furry monster."

Sadly, Danielle was too young to appreciate the art of sarcasm. Or understand where it was present and where it was not. She clenched tighter the dark material of Danny's clothes and started to shake again.

"Monster?" she asked fearfully.

Danny sighed. "Danielle, don't worry. I told you he is my friend, just like others like him. And if something happens, I will protect you. I'm very strong."

"So...he is a good monster?"

Danny nodded and the girl calmed down considerably.

He searched for the chieftain and found him in the room where the feast took place a few hours ago. Frostbite had his back turned to him, while commanding his people around. The mess had to be cleaned, after all.

"Frostbite!" Danny called.

The yeti ghost turned behind and grinned once he saw that Danny wasn't alone.

"I see it went well," he said.

Phantom smiled softly, moving the cover away from the girl's face. "Her name is Danielle. Say hi, sweetie."

"Hi," she said and looked up, before snuggling against Danny's shoulder again.

"She is very shy," he commented.

"Oh, that's alright. I do look like a person to scare children," Frostbite waved away his concerns. "Besides, you can't be angry at such cute little one."

Danielle smiled in Danny's shoulder, but didn't dare to look up. Phantom sighed.

"Do you know anyone who can make clothes for her?" He asked his friend.

Frostbite smiled enigmatically, before handing Danny a shopping bag. "Clockwork has visited."

Danny groaned, taking the bag. "I don't want to know."

Phantom carried his daughter into the free and empty room. There he opened the bag and used the towel inside to wipe the water. He started dressing her up, but it was hard with how shifty Danielle was.

"Stop squirming, Danielle," Danny said after a while.

"Okay, Daddy," the girl responded.

When Phantom was done, he took a good look at the girl. She was wearing white dress which reached her knees, long black socks and white sandals. Danny just couldn't suppress a smile at how she looked.

"Aw, you are so cute!" He squealed. Manly. He lifted his daughter and gave her a huge hug.

Danielle grinned and hugged him, too. Phantom put her on the ground and examined his cape. A deadpan expression formed on his face as several droplets of water fell on his boots. He suddenly felt something hugging his leg. Danny looked down and saw Danielle clenching to it.

"Sorry," she mumbled.

"For what?" Phantom asked in confusion.

"Your blanket is wet," Danielle explained, and she sounded genuinely sorry.

Danny laughed quietly, remembering the time when he really wore a blanket as cape. "Don't worry, we won't tell anyone you did it," he whispered mischievously, phasing all the water off his cape and clasping it back on his collar. "Let's go now, you can walk right?"

Danielle huffed and pouted. "Of course!"

Phantom took her hand into his and together they walked out of the room. People around gave them both confused and amused glances.

"What are we gunna do now, Daddy?" Danielle asked.

"Well, we need to wait for my other friend to wake up."

Danielle had just woken up from her slumber, so he guessed that attempting to put her to sleep would be pointless.

"Aww," she dropped her head in sadness.

Phantom got an idea and smirked. "Hey, how about we go outside?"

Raising a confused eyebrow, Danielle nodded. Danny led her outside and a single snowflake fell on her nose. The girl touched it but only wet her hand. It was a mystery she was trying to solve while she followed her father, being so inclined in her thoughts that she didn't pay attention to the Far Frozen passing nearby. Phantom tapped on her shoulder and the girl looked at the young man. Danny only pointed forward. Danielle looked there, but only saw a snowy field.

"What's that, Daddy?"

"Absolutely nothing as of yet. Watch."

To the girl's marvel, Danny's hand glowed with icy blue color. What stunned her even more is that a small icy fort appeared from literally nothing in less than thirty seconds. Danielle's eyes became as wide as saucers, before she started jumping in excitement. When Danny was done, he looked down at the small child with a grin.

"Race you to the castle."

When Komand woke up, she didn't recognize her surroundings at first. The apprentice tried to remember what led to this event, struggling with a nasty headache. She soon remembered how she got there and got up from her bed. Rubbing her forehead, Komand walked out of the room. She went through the unfamiliar corridors for a few minutes until she found the hall. Frostbite was still present there, so Komand approached the ghost.

"Oh, Komand, you are awake!" He greeted.

"Yeah, yeah," the apprentice rubbed her eyes. "Where is Danny?"

"I remember he has went to the Northern Barrens, there is a path behind this hall leading to it."

Komand nodded and went out of the building and walked down rocky path which was the only road you could get in the Far Frozen. Relying on the Force, the apprentice easily learned where Phantom was. To her surprise, she found a small icy fort. Raising her eyebrow at rather unusual building, she approached it. When she came closer, however, Komand felt a very strong Force presence, there was someone else inside.

"Danny? You in there?"

"Say the password!"

The last thing Komand expected to hear was a young voice coming from inside. Then she heard an all too familiar snicker, along with the kiddy giggles. Phantom was inside, alright. Komand narrowed her eyes and crossed her hands.

"I know you are in there, Phantom, would you kindly to come out?"

"Sup."

Komand jumped in surprise after hearing Danny behind her. He loved teleporting behind her and she never was prepared to meet him. She growled and glared at the stark haired ghost, turning around to face him. For some reason, Danny was grinning mysteriously, and Komand didn't like it at all.

"What are you grinning at?" She asked.

"Oh, nothiiing much. What have I taught you before about turning your back to potential threat?"

Komand suddenly felt something hitting the back of her head and crumbling to pieces. It was a snowball. Confused and buffled, Komand looked back and was stunned at what she saw. She wasn't expecting to see a laughing three years old on top of the wall. There was something familiar about her...Komand looked at the girl and then at Danny, and only a blind wouldn't have been able to notice how alike they were. Her eyes widened, could it possibly be...

"Good job, sweetie!" Danny praised with a slight clap of his hands.

"Thanks, Daddy!" Dani called with an adorable grin on her face while jumping in excitement.

Komand froze, attempting to process what she had heard. And while she stood there, Danny floated up to the girl and picked her up. He had previously shown some of his powers to her, so his flying didn't earn any reaction from her, except for eagerness to be carried by her Dad. When Danny landed near Komand, she finally snapped out of her stupor.

"How?" She mouthed.

Phantom shifted a hold on his daughter. He then proceeded to tell how she came to be. Dani was interested too, but she didn't understand a single word Danny said. She was getting bored, and thus squirmy. Phantom let her out to play in the snow while they were talking.

"So, she is your clone," Komand deadpaned after Danny finished his tale. "And you just accepted it?"

"Yes. Danielle may not be my daughter in a typical meaning, but she has my ectoplasm in her veins. I'm her only family and I'll take care of her."

Komand smiled slightly, shaking her head. "You are too kind for your own good. That makes her the heirness of the Empire, though. What are you planning to do?"

"The Empire has to know that. Plus, our troops might need the boost in morale. And I know just what to do."

An hour later the three of them already were on the Earth. Once there, Danny made a portal to Hyperion, and they walked into his quarters. Dani jumped from his shoulders and looked around.

"Is this my room?" She asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid no," Komand put in. Seeing her disappointed expression, the young woman felt her heart melting.

"But hey, cheer up, we are aboard of spaceship!" Danny added.

Danielle tilted her head in confusion.

"Spaceship?"

It was time for Danny to smile. He kneeled near her and gently grabbed the girl's chin, before tilting her head to the side, towards the illuminator. Dani ran closer to the window and leaned on it. Chuckling under his nose, Danny approached the excited child and put a hand on her shoulder.

Looks like they shared not only the looks, but also a passion for space. Hyperion had previously taken off to accomplish another stage of the takeover plan. He just sent a Star Destroyer to take that position instead. They will take everything worth looking into from two labs and put under guard everything they couldn't take, like Ghost Portal.

Danny looked down at his daughter, before hearing a characteristic growl from her stomach. Apparently, one sandwich could only get you this far.

"My, my, someone is hungry, aren't you?"

Dani shook her head, not looking away from illuminator. "No, I don't wanna."

"Still, you have to, sweetie. C'mon, I'll show you..."

Suddenly the communicator started to beep. Groaning quietly, Danny accepted the call. Dani stared in awe at the hologram, as it, or more precisely the person behind the hologram spoke.

"My Lord, finally you are online," the Admiral said. "We have just raided the base you have ordered to examine, and you were right. We have brought the survivors to the bridge. They are awaiting your decision."

Danny sighed, glancing at his daughter, who had a curious look on her face. No, he decided, she wasn't supposed to be present there. Who knows what horrors that fellows had been through.

"Komand, come with her, please. I'll join soon after."

Two females looked at each other. Dani was clinging to her Dad because of general shyness, both adults sensed no fear coming from the ghost girl. Komand, on the other hand, didn't know what to think. Shouldn't be too hard, though. It was a simple three years old, what could go wrong?

"Alright," Komand sighed. "What should I say, though? The dining room isn't exactly empty."

"Be straightforward. Just say that she is my kid," Danny ruffled baby girl's hair, earning giggles from her. "I'll think up the rest later."

Komand nodded and Dani, although reluctantly, took the woman's hand. The two walked out of the room and went to the right, while Danny went to the left. Two corridors and one turbolift later he got to the bridge. After the casual greeting procedure, he was led towards one particular corner.

"Here they are, Your Majesty," Pilion pointed at the three kneeling aliens.

Danny couldn't help but raise an amused eyebrow. The captives belonged to the Duros race. Two of them had blue skin, and the third one's was gray. They all had monochrome brownish red eyes and big circular heads. The amusing part was that they looked exactly like the most stereotypical representation of alien life forms in human culture. That cleared some things for the ghost.

"Why are they tied up?" Danny asked.

"Well, we aren't sure how to proceed. We didn't have much experience with handling...unknown life forms. We wondered what you have to say for that matter first."

"Untie them. They are harmless," Phantom waved his gloved hand nonchalantly.

His command was put into fruition and the Stormtroopers took off the shackles. The Duros didn't take their eyes off obvious leader. Even though they couldn't understand a single said word, Phantom was standing out, not only because of different clothing, but because of tone the Admiral spoke in with the young seemingly human.

"My apologies," Danny spoke, switching to Galactic Basic, so they will understand him. "My subordinates haven't come in contact with members of Republican community before."

"Who are you?" One of the aliens asked.

"Now, that's an interesting question," Phantom responded. "I'll tell you, but first, I want to know what happened with you down there. If you don't mind."

Komand and Dani were meanwhile walking towards the dining hall. The small girl was jumping from one metal plate to another, which did slow them down, but the woman didn't know what to do. Telling a little child to stop could cause an unexpected reaction. Then she got an idea to start conversation.

"So, I didn't catch your name," the apprentice looked down. Luckily for her, the girl stopped jumping and started steadily walking.

"I'm Dani," she gave a small grin, looking up at her. Komand raised an eyebrow.

"Isn't this your father's name?"

"Daddy's name is Dani?" Danielle made a confused pout.

Komand groaned slightly. "Nevermind, I'll just ask him."

When the doors slid open, they walked into big gray room. Unvoluntarily Dani clinged tighter to Komand's arm at seeing so many people around. She was obviously afraid of big crowds. The Stormtroopers, pilots and several maintainance workers were busy with consuming their lunch. Some of them were aliens, whose only humanoid traits were two hands, two legs and one head, which scared the child when they glanced at the new arrivals in confusion.

"Don't worry," Komand stroked Dani's long hair. "They won't harm you. Not when they learn who you are."

That eased the girl's worry, but her grip on the woman's hand was still painful. She got her Dad's strength, obviously. Dani refused to let go of the woman's hand even when Komand was about to take the food on the tray. The worker behind the stand looked down at the wide eyed little girl.

"Who is this?" He asked, voicing the thoughts of everyone present. Speaking of, they leaned closer to hear the response.

"This is the Emperor's daughter."

The settled silence was only interrupted by ringing of dropped spoons, forks and knifes. Dani shifted fearfully under multiple stares. Seeing her discomfort, Komand quickly took the tray with food and put it on the empty table. Danielle sat at the table on the opposite side from the apprentice. She grabbed a fork in her small fist and poked the food in confusion. Komand's glare at the crowd was enough to make them return to their own business, which didn't stop them from throwing small glances.

"What's this?" Dani asked.

"Nerf stew," Komand shrugged. "Cheap, easily made and tasty enough."

There were also special nutrient bars, but they tasted like shit and were made just to fill the stomach in extreme situations. Thankfully, there was no need in them right now. Each starfighter had several of them in case of crash landing, along with dried meat and bread fabricate.

"What's 'nerf'?" The girl kept asking questions.

"An animal..." the woman didn't know what how to explain and sighed. "Just eat."

"I don't wanna eat animals!" Dani said.

Alright, that was...unexpected. Sighing, Komand got up and brought the girl some crackers, since the army ratio didn't have much variety. Even Danny was eating the same thing while among soldiers. Speaking of, Phantom was going to kill her for feeding his daughter with some fabricates instead of normal food, but she didn't have much choice. Still, Komand couldn't stop a smile from coming on her face. Dani obviously liked the meal, judging from her delighted expression. The girl ate her food in less than ten minutes and looked at the woman.

Komand meanwhile ate what she had brought to the girl. It tasted like beef, which didn't sound so farfetched, nerfs were actually furry cows, firstly tamed on Alderaan. They could live pretty much everywhere and were widely spread across the Galaxy, even getting as far as the Unknown Regions.

"Can I have a dessert now?" Dani smiled innocently, clasping her hands.

"I'm not sure...it wasn't exactly the normal breakfast."

"Pweaase!" Dani used her father's former ultimate weapon. Puppy eyes. It earned several 'awws' from the most sentimental soldiers.

Komand should have been proud of herself. She resisted the look. For ten whole seconds. Sighing, she rose from her seat and went to get a dessert. Thankfully, there was something sweet enough to be considered one. Soon Komand returned and gave the girl the object of her desire. Dani's look turned into that of confusion as she examined it. She poked it and jumped in fright soon after as the dessert started to bounce.

"AH!" She exclaimed, hiding under the table.

Komand's eyes widened in surprise. She looked at the hiding girl. "What's wrong?" She asked in concern.

Dani peaked from under the table, "It moves," she whispered, not taking her eyes off the food.

Komand burst laughing, while some people in the crowd snickered in amusement. "Don't worry about that, it's jelly. It's supposed to bounce," she poked the red substance and it started to move again.

The girl still looked not convinced, but she returned on her place. Dani was still eyeing the jelly, before taking a breath and trying the meal. It was better than she expected, plus, kids like sweets. In a few takes the girl finished the jelly and grinned again.

"Thank you!" She said cutely.

Komand smiled again and chuckled. She took the napkin and wiped the remaining food from the girl's mouth. Taking her hand, the apprentice led Dani to Phantom's room. She gave glances at the soldiers, who were smiling at the adorable girl. Danny was right, people were going to love their princess.


	22. Chapter XXII: Negotiations were short

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, you are watching Amity Park News and I'm Harriet Chin."

A tanned asian woman said this phrase from the channel studio. Near her was sitting a man with carefully brushed blond hair.

"I'm Lance Thunder, and welcome to another day under alien occupation," the man added.

"As you might have noticed by now, the ship above the city was changed to another one. The reasons of such action remain unknown."

"Could it mean that something is about to happen? With their soldiers patrolling our streets, and how our weapons are seemingly useless, there is nothing stopping them. Also, since Wall Street is currently overrun by them, and the entire trade frozen by blockades, market crash is inevitable, say experts."

"Well, this aliens are much smarter than what we are used to. Soon we will simply have no money to fight the invaders. We can only hope that their helmets are actually to protect them from Earth diseases or that the solution will be found soon. The president has made an announcement that..."

Suddenly the transmission got interference. And not only this channel. Each of them, so no one watching it would miss what was about to happen. The interference cleared, and another image was put through.

Phantom was wearing his military uniform, with a fine addition of a new crown resting on his snowy head. It was a gift from the jewelery masters of Far Frozen. It was made entirely of clean ice, decorated with laurel leafs, intertwining with each other, which shape was similar to the diadem of some elven king from Lord of the Rings. On the diadem's head was a green gem, which emmited the same warm neon glow as the Emperor's eyes.

Danny stood in front of an illuminator, which gave a look into the abyss of space, with a glass of drink in his hand and another hand behind his back. The planet was moving below his ship, and the Moon was reflecting the starlight, while glimmering with white. To say that the viewers were dumbfounded would be an understatement. He looked...human enough, and quite young for that matter. And in one particular town people realized who that person was, and the shock was evident.

"Greetings, humans. My apologies for interrupting your view of culinary show or watching how male cheetah runs after his female, but I wouldn't have done so without proper reasons."

Danny gave a disarming smile and chuckled. "The Earth hasn't changed much since I was here last time, I must admit. For those absolute superiority of humanity who aren't already aware about who I am, I shall introduce myself. Daniel James Phantom, the Supreme commander of the First Imperial Fleet, and undisputed ruler of the Reborn Sith Empire."

Phantom made a final sip from the glass and put it down on the table.

"As of right now, you have seen a portion of our forces. And, as you can also see, the invasion isn't going quite like you have imagined. There is a reason for that. I do not wish any extra bloodshed between us and I'm sincerely sorry for those caught in a crossfire. Now, we are finally coming in contact. And I must say, you are really lucky. You probably know where exactly you are in this Galaxy, and I must say, this isn't the best its part. Of all the governments, the Empire is the best choice for joining."

"Despite monarchical regime, we respect the rights of our people. We may negotiate. If by the end of our discussion you won't be convinced," Phantom shrugged nonchalantly. "We will leave. Just announce where the meeting shall be set, and I will be there. Without my fleet or army. But. I expect the same thing from you. You may bring bodyguards, though, as I'll prefer to talk with my equals, not their representatives. If the decision is not made by the end of this day, we will consider this an act of hostility. Be warned. Transmission is over."

-Later-

HK was walking through the corridors of Hyperion, having just returned from his post. So far everything seemed alright, humans couldn't and didn't want to attack. New York was under undisputed control of the Empire. The US army had yet to arrive to attempt to drive them away from the city. However, it didn't stop them from attacking from three sides. The first one was the arrived fleet. Several ships were daring enough to fire at the city in attempts of burying the enemy under debris. However, one dome shield protected the Imperial Forces. Plus, starfighters sent some of them to explore the bottom of the ocean.

Attacks from the sky stopped soon after, when they realized that jets weren't powerful or fast enough to take at least one fighter down.

The resistance tried to repel the invaders, but each time they suffered failures. HK was a droid, and thus in general he was supposed to be less effective than organic commanders because programming had limits. But, his programming had a huge limit. He created a good intelligence and observation posts. He wouldn't have missed the fun of exterminating meatbags for his pleasure, but his Master's orders were to kill only when they shoot first. Luckily for the droid commander, moronic organics just couldn't get it.

Still, the Stormtroopers were suffering some losses. Plastoid armor could protect from bullets and shrapnel, but power wave emmited by explosives could kill them. HK couldn't get why Phantom was waiting. They could just attack and wipe them all out. He regretted not being sent to Switzerland. His only entertainment was slaughtering of the GIW compounds. Danny let him be creative with his murders as long as he kills them all. The droid didn't complain.

He went to the bridge and entered it. Everyone's eyes immediately turned to him and someone flinched in fear, preferring to stay away from the trigger happy droid. Phantom noticed multiple reactions and looked at his servant.

"What took you so long?" He asked.

"Explanation: Had to wait for the shuttle. That idiot of a pilot got lost. Question: Why did you summon me, Master?"

"I need a bodyguard," Danny stated as if it was obvious.

"Sarcastic question: What? You need a bodyguard against the ones who can't even leave a scratch?"

Phantom regarded the droid with a strange look. "Believe me, the scratch they leave can be quite big," he said coldly.

"Daddy!"

Danny's look instantly softened considerably. He looked to the side and saw Dani running to him with a huge shining grin on her face. She was holding a datapad in her little arms. Phantom smiled softly, kneeling so he would be on her eyelevel. HK's processor was racing on rapid speed, trying to get what was going on. He was examining the small child, the face scan finding a lot of similar traits to the young man.

"What is it, princess?" Phantom asked.

"I drew a picture!" She said in excitement, showing him the device and tilting her head. It had a function of writing notes with stylus, but looks like she thought up to use it for drawings. Smart girl.

"Really? That's great!" Danny chuckled, looking at what she had drawn. "Uhm...what is it?"

"It's you!" Dani said, grabbing his hand. She couldn't believe her Daddy was so silly!

"Oooh."

He could hear some snickers coming from the crew at the small family's interactions. Dani's picture was rather...unique. It looked more like some weird black squid with four tentacles and white head. Phantom looked at his daughter, who was expecting his decision with big eyes full of eager. Danny hummed theatrically, hugging the girl with one hand and pulling her closer.

"When we get home, we will print it and put in frame," he said seriously with pride.

Dani squealed happily and wrapped her hands around Danny's neck. "Thank you, Daddy!"

HK interrupted their family time. "Statement: Master, we have a job to do."

Danny sighed, "Sure, sure."

The girl had stars in her eyes. "Wow, a robot!" She exclaimed.

"Statement: I'll take that as insult."

Dani giggled. "You are funny. I'm Dani, what's your name?"

Everyone stared at the three years old. Too innocent to know what a cruel being that droid was. HK knew that he couldn't lay a hand on her, meatbags are known to be protective of their offsprings. Hopefully she won't realize that, or he would face a disaster. Naive poor droid, he didn't know what was hidden beneath that sweet grin of hers.

"Explanation: HK-47, protocol and extermination droid."

"Pro...col.." Dani tried to say the long word, her face gaining an adorable struggling expression.

Danny chuckled, picking her up. "Protocol, sweetie. He is SUPPOSED to help me with paperwork," he deadpanned, making accent on one word. "He is better in second thing. Let's go to the room, hm?" Phantom started to carry her, before looking at the droid and gesturing for him to follow.

When they were on their way, Dani started playing with his snowy hair, but the man didn't pay attention.

"So, about why I need a bodyguard," Phantom turned to the droid. "I want them to underestimate me. If they don't know what I can do, they won't be prepared. We killed off the GIW, after all."

"Confusion: Then why don't go alone? You will be completely 'unprotected'."

"Well, I thought...ouch!" Danny turned to the girl, "Careful, Dani."

"Sorry!" She said nervously.

"Anyways, it will look too suspicious and unrealistic. That's why I need you to be with me."

HK nodded in understanding. Dani stopped playing with her father's hair and looked at him as an idea came into his mind.

"Daddy, can I come with you?" She asked.

"I'm afraid no, sweetheart. You will get bored there. I'll just talk with some serious old people there."

"Query: Speaking of, where exactly is 'there'?" HK pointed out.

"They proposed to meet on Easter Island. Looks like everyone was too afraid to invite me on their territory and picked the furthest place."

"Aww," Dani dropped her head and pouted.

"Hey, don't be like that, baby girl. We will play together when I come back, but for now stay with Komand, alright? She should be here by now."

Dani brightened and nodded eagerly.

A few minutes later Danny and HK were sitting in the shuttle, on their way to the surface, the former redressed into royal clothes. The droid was cleaning up his ecto blaster, while Phantom was reading through several reports because of nothing better to do. Besides them there were only two pilots at the cockpit. Suddenly a thought came into the droid's processor.

"Question: I just thought, why are you certain that they will accept your offer? Isn't that too much of a risk?"

"If by that question you mean why I promised to leave," Danny shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "I'll try to sound convincing. But if not, I specifically wanted to meet with the leaders, instead of making vote across the planet. Because there are only about two hundred of them, and my uncle once won elections in a way I'm about to use if they don't agree," he gave a fanged smirk as his eyes flashed brighter.

The shuttle soon descended towards the small chunk of land and flew to the arrival point. Danny got up and walked to the cockpit, before looking out of the illuminator. He snorted in amusement and put a gloved hand on his chin.

"They set it up in an airport, lovely," the ghost commented dryly, before turning around.

When the shuttle landed, the Emperor walked to the trap and went down once it opened, with his servant following behind. The setting sun was shining barely above the blue sea, and Danny stared at it for a while, as the evening wind tripled his pearly cape. It lasted for a few seconds, because he had to go down the red carpet. By two sides stood the Chilean Honor Guard. The island belonged to that country, after all. All wore blue and red uniform, with metal spiked helmets. On another end of the path the young man was greeted by a Hispanic man in official suit. He was smiling, but Phantom could feel nervousness coming from him. Understandable to a degree.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," the man said, "Are you liking this planet so far?"

Danny smiled. "I grew up on Earth, sir. This island, on the other hand, I always wanted to see that statues of yours."

He showed a lot of respect, and acted cheerfully. It wasn't hard, he was acting like himself. Phantom outstretched his hand for a handshake and the president shook it. As a leader of a hosting country, he got the 'spoils'. Hundreds of cameras flashed brightly to picture the first contact between the Imperials and Humans. Then the president noticed that Phantom wasn't alone. He jumped slightly at seeing an armed machine.

"And what's...this?"

"This is my bodyguard, HK-47. He is one of a kind, created by one of the greatest Sith Lords four thousand years ago. HK, say hi."

"Request: Go kill yourself, meatbag," HK said in Basic. He didn't have Spanish in his database.

"What did he say?" The president asked confused.

"HK shows his respect in his own unique way," Danny translated. "Shall we proceed?"

"Of course."

They walked through the airport, and the reporters just didn't let go. Danny even saw some floating reporter droids. Alright, how the Imperial media got there? While they were walking, a very small ship decloaked and landed on another end of the island. It was damn hard to get through the blockade, but the donators were generous. The cockpit opened and a person jumped out of the ship. He opened the luggage and took out a rifle, before turning on the communicator.

"Have you arrived by now?" The man from another end of transmission asked.

"Yes sir. I need time to prepare, though. I had to follow Phantom because he hid where he was going."

"That complicates things...this negotiations are important, I doubt it will be solved fast. Prepare well, you better not to fail."

"Affirmative," the man turned off the communicator and proceeded to cover the ship from view.

The Emperor had finally got to the limo and situated inside. A very awkward silence settled in the car, until the president attempted to build a dialog.

"Your Majesty..."

"Call me Phantom," Danny smiled.

"Phantom," the aged man nodded. "You said you grew up here. How is this possible for you to live here and then become an Emperor?"

"Well, I wasn't born a heir. I simply got an opportunity to leave this planet after my family's death. A little more than year ago I started the civil war against the former government. Slavery, corruption, you can guess what could cause an unrest. History has a tendency to repeat itself. The Infinite Empire crumbled into pieces in a few months after their military might was undermined."

"Infinite Empire?"

"Yes, the history of our Galaxy counts thousands, if not millions years. Many countries lived and died through it. Rakata, Mandalorians, the Sith, they all had powerful states once. The last ones' fate is horrible. Yes, their race started The Great Hyperspace War and later joined Emperor Vitiate in Great Galactic War. But, it isn't the reason to start genocide against them. And committed by Jedi, no less, bunch of hypocrites," he said their name with disgust, leaving the human to wonder who the Jedi were.

The limo pulled towards the meeting place, which was positioned on a seacoast. So much for organization and safety, oh well. Danny raised his eyebrow at seeing the Imperial banner along with multiple Human ones. Where did they take it? Probably made them. He also noticed weirded looks of the crowd while they looked at it. Hm, black symbol in white ornament, while the rest is red. They obviously got nazi flashbacks.

Some people weren't very welcoming. Danny once had to sidestep a thrown stone, while receiving several boos.

Going through the first official greeting, he stopped near the tribune, where he had to make the first speech.

"Hello again, planet Earth. Today we begin a process, which will decide the fate of this beautiful world. But let me rephrase myself. There is no such thing as fate. We are the ones who decide our future and the future of our kids. And the Empire gives you this choice. Will you be left alone in your own corner of this dangerous Galaxy, or join us, no one knows. But first know this, there is no guarantee that other states may be as good willing as we are."

"The biggest state so far, The Galactic Republic, is plunged into bureaucracy and corruption. They may be good willing, yes, and knowing the leading institution on this planet, you would have wanted to join them nevertheless. But, they are quite far away and searching for inhabited worlds for them is...unprofitable. All known major hyperspace lanes are already under their control, besides a few of them, controlled by Hutt Cartel. Their last colonization project ended rather severely. The Chiss didn't want the Outbound Flight to reach its destination, because then the colonizers will provoke what they call 'Far outsiders'. We have yet to learn who they are."

"The point is, the Republican Senate will never approve another money wasting project. Also, there is a threat of a civil war. Thousands worlds wish to leave the Republic. Do you think it is because they live well? But we got off topic. We are not the Republic, we shall speak about our state. Yes, the Empire is absolute monarchy, there is no reason to hide that. But totalitarian regime of old is gone, it has proven its insufficiency, when the Republic crushed it. We promise you, that your basic rights will be recognized and protected, including even freedom of speech."

"Our regime combines native rule with Imperial governors, Moffs and Grand Moffs. For instance, take recently defeated Ssi-ruuvi Imperium. They still have their Supreme Leader, but he shares his power with our representative now. How we choose them is another thing. Yes, it is not a democracy, it is much more effective. After all, the candidate can be not the most talented in his job, but he can be a good orator, which brings him the voters' sympathy. We seek effectiveness."

"Everyone willing can anticipate in choosing procedure when the time comes. First, we check the reputation of the candidates. If it's clean from crimes, they move to another step. They must pass the series of tests, and if they previously successfully led some governmental organization, it will give them additional points. The one who gets the best result assumes the post."

"Why I'm saying this? Because you still will be able to elect your own government, while receiving all the benefits. The Empire will destroy the terrorist organizations, we will heavily invest in your planet and give working places to millions. Including offworld jobs. Not to mention techs of civilian use, superior medicine and engineering. You may not fear famines, overcrowding your planet, and most importantly, there will be no wars. I know it sounds tempting because we have previously destroyed your economy, but, I have simply proven that your capitalism is flawed. We will repay the losses, for an Interstellar state a few trillion dollars aren't that much of a fuss. Still cheaper than waging a war."

"I will be here for a long time, and my race doesn't need sleep, so later I'll be ready to discuss the matters and answer all of your questions."

On Hyperion meanwhile one particular three years old was hanging from an edge of the bed, with a big pout on her face. Komand was sitting on an armchair, reading a book and occasionally glancing on the small girl.

"I'm bored!" She said, raising her hands and wriggling her legs.

Komand looked up from the book and raised an eyebrow. "And just what do you plan to do?"

"I don't know!" Dani exclaimed dramatically.

The woman shrugged and chuckled internally. "I don't know either."

The girl flipped on her belly, and her pout became even more pronounced. "Whatcha readin'?"

"Just an old novel," Komand answered without looking up, "I read it when I was younger."

Suddenly Dani's snowy head appeared right between her and the book. "Can I read it with you?"

It's strange how quickly the small child got used to the young woman, she wasn't that opened to anyone but Phantom and now her. And it worked both ways, Dani was just too adorable to remain neutral to her.Komand smiled softly and chuckled.

"Can you read?" She asked teasingly.

Dani blushed green and rubbed her pinky finger. "No," she mumbled.

Komand's eyes widened in shock. Danny definitely had to hear about this. She then noticed Dani's ashamed and downcast look. Komand picked her up and situated the girl on her lap.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm sure your father will think up something. How about I read to you, hm?"

The girl beamed at the woman and snuggled closer. Komand started reading aloud. After some time Dani's breathing was slowing down as her eyelids were becoming heavy. Soon Komand stopped reading and stared at the slumbering girl. She couldn't resist a smile of adoration from coming on her face. Dani would grow into a nice lady once, she decided. Pretty one, too, if she takes after her father. Komand blushed brightly and shook her head, dismissing the thought. It kept coming too often in her head.

Suddenly her comlink beeped. Komand flinched as Dani started to stir. She hurriedly, but carefully picked up the girl and put her on the bed, while communicator kept beeping. Komand went into the corridor and activated it. The irritation on her face was ivident, and the Red Guard on the other end noticed this.

"What?" She asked.

"Apologies, my lady, we had to contact his Majesty in situation like this, but he doesn't respond to any calls," the guard explained.

No one knew how to properly adress her, since Komand didn't have any official rank. But, since she was so close to the Emperor, the apprentice was adressed as such.

"Ugh, just get to business."

"Your father was somehow able to escape."

"What?!"

"He is not in his apartment. The confusing thing is that the doors were constantly under watch. We are trying to track him down before he gets too far."

Komand sighed and rubbed her temples. "Just do your job and find him," she shut off the communicator, "Before he does anything we all will regret," she then mumbled.

On the Easter Island, the bounty hunter had disguised as a bypasser. His orange skin and raven hair weren't that much of a giveaway in tropics. He spent the last few hours examining the surroundings and trying to pick the best spot. What complicated things is that he didn't know the local language. It was a daring plan, but no one will suspect its completion. He observed the guarded places and the place was too crowded with security. Not surprising, considering that most of the world leaders were here. There was only one place not observed by them, and the hunter got an idea. Sniper rifle won't do, too risky, so he would have to resent to a more loud way. Shaky plan, but it could work. He needed his ship.

Danny took a gulp of water from the glass. His throat became dry from all the talking.

"To answer your question, ma'am, the matter of military presence shall depend on situation. We will use our forces to end current conflicts, after that the Solar system will have a constant garrison, just like any system. Pirates can put entire planets on their tributes list if given freedom. At least one fully armed Star Destroyer will be here at the time. And don't worry about the name, they don't blow up stars. Are there any other questions, or offers?"

He felt a bit uncomfortable being the youngest person in the hall, surrounded by much older men and women. Phantom was good at hiding it, however. Another man Danny didn't know decided to ask him about something.

"And what about national sovereignty?"

Phantom flinched internally. Touchy topic, he needed to choose his words wisely.

"I'm interested to hear your opinion on that matter," he responded calmly. "My proposal is to unite all the countries into highly autonomous federation. You already have a structure where each state is represented. How do you humans say? Why shall we invent the bicycle again?"

Not everyone liked it, obviously. "If we wanted to make a federation, we would have already done so!" Someone shouted over loud discussion.

"Yes, what he understands in our politics?" Another person supported him.

Phantom was quiet. He patiently waited for them to blow off steam and calm down. It was pointless to argue with enraged person, this action will only make it angrier. When he noticed that it became more quiet, Danny fixed the crown on his head and got up from his seat, crossing his hands. His green eyes gained a brighter glow, which could be seen even in a lightened room. He noticed several cameramen, and decided to act.

"I have a question," he said. "Why WE are the Empire which controls numerous systems and YOU haven't even colonized your moon? I'll tell you why, because it's impossible accomplish any feat when people are ready to chop each other's head. That's precisely what the governments here do. YOU will be wiped out by another stellar state before you will be able to think about what hit you! Just look at what happened beforehand. We crushed you without losing even a hundred soldiers. We attacked two different countries, and what the rest did? Oh, I know. NOTHING. You don't stand a chance out there."

"Humanity born on Coruscant was one of the founding races of the Republic. There is a difference between you and them. They had to fight for their survival against another race, they went through the war to extinction and won. Look at their homeworld now, the most prospering planet wide city of the Republic, which was the capital since its foundation. Haven't you noticed that when you didn't slaughter each other, you were capable of great things?"

"We offer you a solution, and you just slap the hand away. Most of you were chosen by your people, what they will think of you? You deny them a chance to live better life. You are basically saying: 'Go kill each other, we won't stop you'. Yes, supremacists exist in every nation, but they are a pathetic minority in each. Don't people want to live in peace? Don't they want to live in a world where the strong countries don't destroy the weak to get their resources?"

It was a painful and low blow, and the leaders could understand that the Emperor wasn't speaking with them. No, he was speaking with people behind the transmission of cameras - their future voters.

"You are saying this like you don't start any wars!"

"Interesting claim. The last ones we defeated were the Ssi-ruu. Zealous slavers, who used conquered beings as FUEL for their techs. And the funniest thing is, they have recently got a common border with you," Phantom shrugged. "They made a mistake of attacking my people, and now they are forced to coexist with other races within our country. Yes, I'm a horrific warmonger."

The security could anticipate many things. Snipers, terrorists, they could deal with that. What they did not expect is an alien fighter appearing out of nowhere. It fired a torpedoe and dissappeared just as suddenly as appeared. Homing missile. It had special thrusters which allowed to control their flight, and the bounty hunter took control over them when the cloaking device turned active. A special droid, which looked like it belonged to reporters, traced the Emperor's way to the negotiations hall. The bounty hunter remembered the way.

He moved steadily through the halls, and the bypassers screamed in fear as the projectile flew right above their heads. Finally it flew into the hall, and the entire world found itself confronted by an extraordinary sight.

The leaders had turned their chairs to stare with a mixture of surprise, fascination and terror at the missle that had intruded into their solemn proceedings. And right in front of the missle, Phantom was holding a hand palm-outward towards the missle, his neon eyes blazing. But the missle was not moving, frozen in midair, halfway between the entrance and the Emperor's face, its thrusters spitting fire uselessly as they tried to drive it forward against Phantom's Force grip.

"Do not be concerned," he intoned, his voice resonating with power and authority befitting the Emperor. He nodded to HK and the droid ran outside. "So, certain party believes that they know what is best for this planet, do they? That killing me and plenty of you will bring them their desire? That the influence of violence supersedes the justice and peace?"

The thrusters gave a final sputter and fell silent, but the rocket remained in midair.

"That is what our attackers believe, dear presidents, prime ministers, kings," his look became hard. "Do you believe it as well?"

Their eyes were locked on the weapon which nearly brought violent death to them. It wasn't filled with simple explosives, after all. Someone managed to find his voice.

"No, of course not," he said.

"Then why do you and your colleagues persist in eroding the legitimate rights of the people of Earth? Why do you persist in denying the the time and expense the Empire is ready to spend in developing resources that would otherwise forever lay uselessly beneath the soil of your world or would be used not to the maximum extent?"

"Now, see here..."

"No, you see," the Emperor cut in, "All of you see. I have listened to your invalid arguments, your positions and your selfish pettiness. It. Ends. Here."

Deliberately, he clenched his outstretched hand. With a raucous cracking of stressed metal, the body of the missile crumpled in on itself. "Human race deserves a fair and just decision. I hope now you will make the right choice."

 **A.N. Who got the reference in the end?**


	23. Chapter XXIII: Old friend

**A.N. Since no one is such a Star wars nerd as I am, that reference in the end was a copy of a similar scene in a book 'Ourbound Flight'.**

"So, you couldn't find the hunter?" Phantom asked.

"Negative: Not a single trace. Question: Didn't you plan this out?" HK responded.

"No, what gave you that thought?"

"Explanation: You seemed to be really prepared for this. Also, it was a showcase of power and rather savage comment."

"Pal, I specialize in making savage comments," Danny deadpanned, before sighing and leaning back on his shuttle seat.

Phantom put a hand on his chin. His moment of triumph was darkened by assassination attempt. Thankfully, humans distrusted each other so much that they didn't blame the accident on him. It was a close call, the votes were placed almost precisely equal. Danny made sure to know who was voting. Against joining were monarchs, whose rule was being questioned, communists, whose dreams of communistic world were shattered, and those who had the last ruling term, because as they say 'After us even flood may happen'. Others were on his side. Of course, as a precaution Phantom possessed a few of his opponents. And now, Earth was a part of the Empire.

But his thoughts were on that particular attack. Dissidents were actually capable of getting through the blockade, sneaking in and attacking. He had to start investigation.

When they entered the hangers, Phantom quickly strolled out of his transport, but to his surprise, he saw Komand waiting for him. Before he could ask an obvious question, the woman raised her hand.

"Relax, Dani is sleeping," she explained. "I have to talk with you. It's important."

Danny blinked. "Of course..." he said slowly, following her into the corridor. "What happened?"

Komand sighed. "My father has escaped. He probably had conspired with others."

"Probably isn't the proper word. It's bluntly obvious," Phantom rubbed his temples. "It just keeps getting better."

"What happened?" Komand asked.

"Well, they hired an assassin, but he miserably failed. He planted a bomb under our shuttle, but I sensed as such and removed it. How did he get there is another question..."

"You think there can be loyalists in the fleet?"

"I don't think, I know. After all, we enlisted everyone willing without too much thought..."

"Wasn't their background checked?"

"We only checked if they are mental. I thought that after war purge we eradicated them. We have to start from high ranks, relying on those who sided with us since the beginning. They rely on my rule, shall I be gone, they will come after me. Their loyalty is unquestionable."

Komand nodded as they started walking. "So, how did it go?"

"Pretty well, we will sign a few treaties later when they finish their paperwork. We must begin excavating the ectoplasm immediately, I have already given the orders."

The Empire didn't stop businessmen from becoming richer, but the companies which specialized on excavation of resources were nationalized and now belonged to the government. It brought billions of credits to the treasury.

"So, you already know how to use it?" Komand asked.

"As a replacement for ion cannon for now. I didn't have time to think up how to implement it for turbolasers. Sadly, our scientists don't know what to do with ectoplasm, I gave them the blueprints, but they have yet to find out the details. That's why Axion Labs are getting governmental funding from now on, becoming an IRB branch. And I just remembered...I have to visit someone."

"Who?" She raised her eyebrow.

"She is a skilled fighter, and we kinda have a history together."

"What kind of history?"

"Valerie blamed me for ruining her rich life, leaving her father jobless, and making her lose her status. And, one lonely fruitloop decided it will be a good idea to give someone with defeated mental state an advanced weaponry. The funny thing is, we dated while she tried to hunt me down. In the end, she decided to end our relationship so she could fully dedicate her time to hunting me."

"That's...weird..."

Danny snorted. "You telling me."

"Wait..." Komand stopped. "You had a girlfriend?"

Phantom's face gained a deadpan look. "Is that so hard to believe?"

"Well...yes," she smirked at his expression.

"You are cruel, Komy."

The door in front of him opened and they quietly entered his quarters. Danny smiled at seeing his Little Phantom on the bed. He lied nearby without making a sound, while Komand observed him and sat on the armchair. Danny slowly brushed the girl's hair away from her peaceful little face. After some time he looked at his apprentice.

"How long has she slept?" He whispered.

Komand shrugged. "About five hours."

Danny nodded. It was more than enough for a healthy half ghost. Which meant that she was going to wake up soon. But what every person does when he or she is about to wake up? They start shifting non stop. Dani started moving, going as far as lying on top of her father, across his stomach. Danny tried not to laugh, because then her pillow would start moving beneath her. He tried to slowly move from his predicament, but Dani didn't let him. All the while Komand snickered at the situation, as she received a glare from the young father, which didn't look threatening at all.

After a few minutes the girl started to open her eyes slowly. She rubbed them with her small hand, looking at the opposite direction from her father. She looked at Komand, confusion clear on her face, and the woman pointed at something behind the girl. Dani looked behind and her eyes snapped open widely as a huge grin appeared on her face.

"Hello there, sleepy head," Danny smirked.

Dani immediately proceeded to give him a bonebreaking hug with a happy squeal. "Daddy, you are here!"

Phantom chuckled and kissed her forehead, returning the hug. "Did you sleep well?"

The girl nodded. "Mhm! I'm hungry."

Danny laughed, before getting into seating position. Technically she was born a few days ago, and the newborns do just that. Eat and sleep, sleep and eat. "Let me take a shower and we will go out, how does that sound?"

Dani suddenly started pushing her father off the bed. Phantom yelped and was caught completely unprepared.

"C'mon, c'mon, faster!" She rambled impatiently, making Danny get on his feet.

"Coming, coming," he laughed, before looking at Komand. "You may go take sleep, too."

She smirked and rose from her seat. "Just watch yourself," the apprentice waved her hand, yawning loudly.

"Bye, Komy!" Dani waved her hand with a grin. Komand waved to her too, smiling softly, and went out of the room.

Danny told the girl not to go anywhere, before entering the bathroom with a pack of clothes. He quickly washed himself up, and the ice cold water had a magical effect. He phased off the remaining water and dressed up in black T-shirt and blue jeans. He had a plan, but it required one more thing. When Phantom came out of the room, he walked to his daughter and kneeled to her eyelevel.

"Hey, Dani, wanna see one superpower?"

The girl got stars in her eyes. "Yes, yes, yes!"

"Turn away...now look back."

Dani looked back and saw that Danny now had black hair and blue eyes. Smirking at the confused girl, Danny picked her up.

"Prepare yourself, kiddo, and watch another trick."

A second later both of them were engulfed by a smoke, before they reappeared in FentonWorks. Dani looked at him in childish awe, with her mouth and eyes wide open. Danny poked on her nose, before putting her on the ground. Phantom then took her small hand and together they left the building. Phantom family walked down the street, and its youngest member was looking around in curiosity. It was her first real visit to the outside world.

"Daddy, where are we goin'?" She suddenly asked.

"Well, you wanted to eat, and I want too. But I only have Imperial currency, and humans haven't yet started using them."

Speaking of, the small ingots previously used for payments were melted down because of how impractical they were. While in treasury they were kept as big ingots, in usual lives people used special credit cards or Imperial coins, which were made of three sorts of precious metals. Phantom used Roman names, since Yuthanean names already were somewhat similar. So, there were aureus, denarius, sestercium, worth hundred, fifty and twenty five credits respectively. Also, there were much cheaper credit chips for smaller operations.

But the girl didn't know how things worked, so she just let her Dad to do what's needed. Since the coins used precious metals, he was able to exchange them to dollars. Thousands of dollars, after blockade inflation, there was nothing you could do about it. Then they walked to one particular restaurant.

"Ah, Nasty Burger, long time no see," he mumbled.

Dani grimaced. "Nasty?"

Phantom shrugged. "It's better than it sounds."

Once inside, he made an order, and to his surprise, Dani didn't want any meat. Phantom chuckled at that, she was like mini Sam. He just asked for a salad, french fries and soda for her, taking a burger for himself, along with a can of coke. When the breakfast was ready, the small family sat at the table and started to eat. Danny chuckled at seeing how fast the girl was guzzling down the food.

"Easy there," he said, and Dani looked up at him with a full mouth. "If you eat so fast, your stomach won't fit anything."

"Undershtood," she responded.

"And don't talk with your mouth full," Danny laughed quietly, before sipping his drink.

It was a nice change from numerous alcoholic beverages. Advanced civilizations had analogs of tea and coffee, but not the sparkling drinks. Suddenly, he heard the sound of doors opening. Out of curiosity, Danny looked there, his eyes widened and his jaw clenched. Of all times to be here! He saw two buffed men, one was a blond with blue eyes, another was an asian with raven black hair. Both were wearing red and white jackets. They haven't changed much, Danny noted, before looking away.

"I'm telling you, it was just freaking awesome!" Dash said in awe.

"You are saying that for an entire hour, dude," Kwam deadpanned.

"Doesn't change the fact that Phantom is awesome. I can't believe he is the Galaxy Emperor, or something, it's so cool."

Danny rolled his eyes. Yep, the jock hadn't changed at all. But, the disguised Emperor ran out of his luck.

"We will be able to travel in space now...Hey, look at that," Dash said slowly, smirked and approached the family. "Long time no see, Fentina, how have you been?"

Groaning internally, Phantom kept a neutral look on his face. "Rather well," he responded coldly.

"Jeez, why so hostile?" Dash kept that stupid grin on his face, leaning on the table. Seeing Dani's fearful expression, Phantom narrowed his eyes, and his look sent chills down the jock's spine.

"You are interrupting my breakfast," Danny menacingly.

"Oh, look how brave we are..."

"Dude, calm down," Kwan interjected. "He lost his parents a few days ago, remember?"

Danny snorted and crossed his hands. "Yeah, would you kindly to leave? We have more important things to do."

"Like what? Babysitting?" Dash smirked, glancing at Dani.

"I consider babysitting the heiress of the country you now live in rather important task."

Just as back on Hyperion, silence settled around. No one would have believed his words, if not for the obvious resemblance Dani possessed. Only one known person had glowing green eyes and snow white hair. Dash backed off, much to Danny's pleasure.

"So I thought," Danny saw that Dani was done with her food. "Have a good day. Take a sestercium," he flipped a coin and Dash caught it.

Dani took her father's hand and snuggled closer to him. The girl didn't like all the attention she was getting. Soon they walked out of the building, before going down the street. Danny felt his child's discomfort.

"Hey," Danny kneeled to her eyelevel. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

Dani shifted on her feet, and her big green eyes looked at him. "Why that people looked at me like that?"

Older Phantom chuckled, putting hands on her shoulders. "Because they are surprised, dear. You will have to get used to meeting many new people."

"Why?" She tilted her head.

"Because you are a princess, Dani. And being a princess doesn't mean that you will only sit in castle waiting for the prince. I rule this country, and I will need help once you grow up a bit. Will you help me?"

Dani gave a determined pout. She nodded and hugged him. "Of course, Daddy! When I will be a big girl, I'll help ya. Swearsies!"

Danny laughed and hugged the girl back. There are no words to describe how he loved his little Phantom. Giving the last peck on the forehead, the ghost let go of the baby girl, before they continued walking. Danny's mood lifted considerably, Dani's adorableness had this effect on people.

Soon they reached the apartment building, and Phantom hoped Valerie hadn't moved out. Otherwise he would have to resort to database. And he hated digging in the database. Danny was there once, when he and Valerie studied together. On the inside, building seemed to be really rundown. He really understood why Valerie hated him for that. His offer was going to be welcomed, he had no doubts about that. Reaching the required floor, Danny knocked on the door.

It was opened by an aged dark skinned man with gray hair. His eyes widened in shock at seeing visitors at his

"Danny, it's good to see you!" He smiled. "What brings you here after all this time?"

"Hello, Mr. Gray," Danny smiled in response. "May I come in?"

"Oh, of course, come inside."

Phantoms complied and entered the apartment. A few seconds later they situated on a sofa in a living room. Dani was sitting on an armchair eating sweets Mr. Gray happened to have. It was the only way to make her sit still. The man kept giving her occasional confused glances.

Phantom looked at the older man.

"Where is Valerie?" he asked.

"She should return soon. Valerie has been searching for a job for a while. But with this crisis not many people seemed to be eager for new employees."

"I see...And your job?"

"I used to work in Axion until recently."

Danny flinched. He had a suspicion why he stopped working there.

"Does that have something to do with the invasion?"

"I was fired a week before it. Now I have no regrets after hearing about what happened there. I used to work in security, after all."

"Yeah, it would have been nasty," Danny mumbled, mentally sighing in relief.

"But what happened with you, boy? There was no sign from you for the entire year."

"Well, I got quite busy. But, I became quite wealthy by assuming high position in the Imperial Government. You can say, I have connections in the capital," Danny made a sip of offered tea.

Damon's eyes were wide as saucers.

"And why are you here?"

Phantom smiled mysteriously. "I'm on official task from the Emperor. I'd like to tell more when Valerie comes here."

Then they heard the sound of door unlocking.

"Dad, I'm home!" Valerie shouted.

"I'm in the living room, sweetie! Here is someone who wants to see you."

Raising her eyebrow, Valerie took off her muddy boots and went there. The living room was made so she didn't see the visitors at the beginning. But Danny did see his former girlfriend. She had chocolate skin and green eyes. Her haircut had changed from long curly one, giving Phantom flashback about rather unfortunate adventure. Her hair were now short and were combed just like in the version of future Danny was in once.

"What's going on, Dad..." the young woman asked, walking into the room.

"Hello, Valerie," she heard a low baritone and turned to the voice source.

Danny grinned, putting the cup on the table, while she was staring at him, not being able to say anything. "Long time no see."

She literally jumped on him and hugged the ghost. Dani looked with curiosity at the exchange, before attempting to throw a sweet in her mouth. She failed, but decided to keep trying.

"Oh, god, Danny, you are alive!" Valerie cried.

Phantom flinched almost invisibly. He wasn't exactly alive.

"Nice to see you too, Val. How are you?" Danny asked, before the woman let go of him.

"How are YOU?" She responded. "You were gone for a year! Fentons said that that filthy piece of..."

"Valerie, language."

Valerie's lips thinned. "That Phantom killed you."

Danny shifted on his place. 'They seem to blame everything on me,' he muttered mentally.

"I'm fine, Val, more than ever," the ghost smiled, putting hands behind his head. "This year has been rather eventful," Danny's look became serious. "Ugh, alright, here goes nothing. I have to tell you one thing, but promise you won't freak out."

"Wha..."

"Promise me," Danny interrupted.

"Alright, alright, I promise," Valerie raised her hand in scout's honor. However, she was worried about the reasons of Danny's concern.

Phantom sighed. "Fine, do you remember when I started acting...weird?"

"Yeah, it was...in the beginning of Freshmen year."

Danny nodded. "There was...an accident. Having a lab in your basement was a disaster waiting to happen. When Jack and Maddie made a portal, it didn't work, and I decided to try to fix it. They put the on button on the inside. Being zapped with thousands bolts of electricity was not nice," he continued, despite Grays' horrified faces. "But I was saved. The pure ectoplasm of the portal got inside of me and supported life in my body. It had a...side effect, though."

"I was able to become a ghost, and then come back to life by a mere snap of my fingers. And...my ghostly appearance is familiar to you too well..."

Taking a sigh, Phantom dropped the illusion, earning several gasps. Thankfully, Valerie was unarmed, so she won't do anything because of a sheer whirlwind of emotions.

"Yes, Val. I am Phantom. I was him all along."

"No, th-that's not possible!" Valerie was in denial.

"You want proofs, don't you? We had our first kiss on top of a broken wheel. Once when we studied, I accidentally found a certain journal, which led to a very awkward situation..."

"What?" Damon asked, but Danny didn't pay attention.

"And finally, a few days before my dissappearance you have told me about being a Ghost huntress. If I wasn't Danny you were friends and were dating with, then how come I know all those things? Please, I beg you, don't react like my parents did. Why do you think they lied to the people that I murdered myself out of the blue? Because they needed to hide the evidences. To hide what they were doing with me for three painful months," Danny glanced at his daughter. "I would have shown you, but not in front of her," he whispered, forgetting that Dani had a sensitive hearing as well.

"Shown what, Daddy?" She tilted her head.

Grays stared at the girl, then at Danny, then again at the girl.

"I'll tell you when you grow up, sweetie," he smiled weakly at her, before turning back to Valerie. "And I'll explain the situation with Dani later. Considering you don't throw me out now."

Valerie looked down on the ground. "I'm so sorry, Danny. I...I tried to...oh god," she rubbed her hands in shame.

"Hey, don't worry about that, Val," Phantom put a hand on her shoulder. "You had reasons to be angry, even if it was an accident. Have you found a job?"

"No," she shook her head. "I haven't."

Danny smiled. "That's why I'm here, though. You happened to be friends with the Emperor, which opens a lot of doors for you. Mr. Gray, I have a place where your talents may be useful. Imperial Research Bureau needs a renovation in security. No ghost dog will bother you this time. Thirty thousand credits per mouth, luxury apartments on Babylon, for which you won't have to pay."

"Isn't that a corruption?"

Danny smiled. "Then make yourself worth that spendings. That means it won't be a corruption. Do you agree?"

"Of course, ehm...Your Highness?"

Phantom laughed, "Just Danny will be fine. I have an offer for you as well, Val. Coming back to our fights, I couldn't help but find using armed hoverboards quite effective. This is what we may use on the future battlefields."

"You wanted peace, isn't that what you said?" Valerie raised her eyebrow.

"Yes, but wars are inevitable. Even now, my legions are crushing yet another local state. They have declared war on us, and I had to move most of my fleet to the battlefield. Our victory is imminent now, when their fleets made of junk are crushed by our brand new and shiny Star Destroyers. Still, techs are what brings victory in Galactic wars. So, I'd like to not only purchase the techs Vlad made for you, but to employ your services for a special division."

"Danny," Damon crossed his hands. "I will never permit my daughter to fight in a war."

"Dad, I'm an adult now, I think I have right to decide what to do," Valerie responded.

"I am not proposing that, Mr. Gray. The future troops of that division will need an instructor. And Valerie can fit this role just fine. What do you say, Val?"

"Well," she hummed in thought. "Still better than work in a Nasty Burger."

Danny laughed. "And they say C.A.T. decides the future. But, you know what, the soldiers should come to respect you, since you will be younger than most of them. They respect me because I led them through civil war. I have a small, almost harmless operation around here. And don't worry, Mr. Gray, I'll be there as well. The transport connection with the rest of the Empire will be established in a few days, I recommend to pack your belongings. You have my farewell, I'll contact you later," Phantom left a communicator on the table. "Common, Dani, let's go."

Dani moaned, dropping the bowl from her belly. Phantom snickered at the sight. Her mouth and the area around was brown from all the chocolate. "Looks like someone ate too much," Danny chuckled, taking off his white glove and using it as napkin. The girl raised her hands, non verbally asking Daddy to carry her. Phantom smiled and complied to her request. Dani snuggled closer and put her head on his shoulder. Damon smiled as well, it reminded him a lot about the time when Valerie was a little girl.

Two Phantoms left the apartment, before Danny teleported back on his ship.

Next few days passed almost unnoticeably. All the time the Emperor was too busy with bureaucratic processing. It was a true torture, and sometimes he thought that the war would have been much easier. Mass protests broke out everywhere. In some places they were a huge minority, in others, he had to deploy soldiers to maintain order. But his forces were stretched thin across the planet, and the local police had to help the new government.

Also, he did hide a few things from the public. It wasn't that painful for most of them, actually. Several billionaires found that their property was confiscated. Their business was built on wars, some sold weapons, some got resources for free. One bastard destroyed the economy of a small country, turning people's lives in hell, becoming a few billion dollars richer. Most of them kept their money in gold, since it was more stable. Better for the Emperor's plan. Another thing which added...enthusiasm...was the fact that some of them had sponsored the GIW, and that was not because of good intentions. He will make them pay.

But it wasn't the matter at the moment. He was distracted from his musings by the adjutant running into his camp tent.

"Your Highness," he kicked his chest with his fist. "The operators say that the project is ready to be launched."

"I'm coming," Phantom said, putting away the datapad.

The ghost removed his legs from the table, before standing up and following the soldier. Walking out of the tent, he was greeted by a construction site. Phantom purchased from the town ownership a big piece of land. Fenton portal was too small for launching a huge industrial project. That's why he ordered to build the required constructions. Cooperating with IRB, Danny created machines for harvesting ectoplasm from the Ghost Zone air.

Outside of that dimension were planned mineral processing plants. It will create thousands of working places, Amity Park will become a one factory town, since this place will need to supply the entire Empire. He planned a similar facility in Bermuda Triangle. But first, they had to build a big enough portal. It was fifteen meters in diameter, and the number of warning signs was alarming. To launch the gateway they needed a lot of ectoplasm. Thankfully, the Far Frozen had provided enough.

Phantom passed the soldiers, who stood in formation already. They were supposed to march straight to the other side once the portal will be opened. Phantom stepped on the platform and approached the elderly man in black lab coat. On his chest he had an IRB badge, which looked like a sign of atom, with three letters written inside of it. Banality, but it was good enough.

"My lord," the man greeted. "We have finished the construction according to your blueprints."

"Tell me something I don't know," Danny snorted and smirked. "Alright, turn it on, we have to do it quick."

The man nodded and pressed a few buttons on the console, contacting the other members of the maintenance crew through the communicator.

"I hope you haven't put the on button on the inside," Phantom commented, raising an amused eyebrow.

"Of course, not, Your Highness."

With a pull of the lever, the portal started sparkling with electricity, before the green and black abyss started to swirl inside of it. Phantom smiled in satisfaction.

"How long can you maintain it opened?"

"Judging from our data, it should be enough for twenty four hours."

"Send an excavation team, along with the fifth division to guard them. Take as much as you can and come out."

Soon they will be able to maintain it opened 24/7, but for now they had time limits. The yuth scientist nodded, before the Emperor turned to face the prepared soldiers. There were two thousand men, not including people driving twenty walkers. The walkers were modified, and were now walking on six legs instead of two, they now weren't that tall. They were armed with one main battery on the roof, four smaller ones on the front wall, two on its back. Also, there were shooting positions on the flat roof.

Phantom smiled at them. "Soldiers, behind that gateway lies a world like no other. The world inhabited by very territorial beings. You have been equipped with special weaponry, because the locals are resistant to blasters. All of you must follow special rules in order to survive. First, do not break the formation. I know it is obvious, but please, follow this instruction like never before. Do not touch plants, do not fire at the life forms unless they attack. And the last thing. DO NOT open the doors. You will understand when we will be there. Movement formation!" He ordered.

Danny stepped down and was greeted by Valerie. She was wearing black and red armor made from light, but strong compound, while carrying her helmet in her arms. Danny patted the woman on back and smiled.

"Ready to fight for your country?" He asked teasingly.

"I don't even know what you are planning to fight against," she deadpanned.

"We will take over Walker's prison."

"Seriously, all this army just to take one prison?"

"Yes, our number superiority is unquestionable. It is more of a showoff, actually. We will show our military might, which will scare most of the hostile ghosts and make the more neutral ones...more cooperative."

"When have you become a strategist?" She muttered.

"I guess I always had it inside. When the opportunity came, it was exploited. Anyways, wanna ride in a walker?"

They went inside the front walker and sat there, and the squad started moving through the portal. Danny kept telling directions to the driver, since no maps were made yet. The soldiers outside felt uncomfortable. Their ruler was right, they had never seen anything like this before. The ghosts were shocked to see an entire army moving through their world. No one had ever seen an organized army ever since Pariah's rule. There were only small tribal skirmishes. They flew away, trying to get away and planning to tell the others.

After half an hour of moving, Phantom was able to see the prison. He ordered the soldiers to stop.

"Are we in firing range?" He asked the driver.

"Yes, sir, we are ready to fire at your command."

Danny nodded, humming in thought. The prison had several walls. The front one had only one small entrance, it was the thickest and the tallest. No prisoners were kept there, they were only let out for a walk there. However, since Walker was so obsessed with rules, he wouldn't have let them out a few hours sooner. Which meant Phantom could blow that wall to oblivion. He doubted it was made to block the massive bombardment.

Walker didn't know that when Phantom visited, he left a communicator in his room. The warden heard beeping beneath his table. Confused, he took the device and pressed a glowing button. Danny's hologram appeared. The young ghost grinned.

"Hello, Walky, if you are watching this, I am being on a short distance away, along with an entire army. And no, this isn't prerecorded message. I offer you to surrender, otherwise it will get nasty."

Walker growled. "Jokes like that are against the rules, punk."

"I follow only Imperial laws. You are not going to surrender, are you?"

"Not a chance, punk."

"Have it your way," Phantom said. "Batteries, turn the front wall into rubble!" He ordered, before the communication was over.

'Batteries?' Walker asked mentally.

Suddenly the entire ground started to shake violently. The warden almost fell on the floor, but regained his position rather quickly. He ran to the window, but from his place he was able to see only red blasts high in the air, right before they hit the wall. Walker gritted his teeth and gripped the edge of windowsill. Then another ghost barged in. He had purple skin and an eyepatch over one of his eyes.

"Walker, we are under attack!"

"I can see that, Bullet, rally all the guards we have immediately!"

Phantom removed binoculars from his eyes, before looking at Valerie.

"Alright, Val, see that forming hole?" At her nod, Danny continued. "Take a squad of troops and attack there. We will flank them using number superiority. I'll attack from the front. Got it?"

"You are the boss here," Valerie shrugged, before taking on her helmet. She then hit her leg with another, before hoverboard appeared beneath her feet. She flew to the required positions, not seeing a smile on the Emperor's face. He looked at the wall and noticed its almost complete destruction. Only hills of broken stones were left in several places, which was perfect, since it was, even if little, high ground.

"Cease fire!" He commanded.

The batteries fell silent. Phantom jumped off the walker and stood in front of the troops.

"Walkers, start moving, Stormtroopers," a green sword materialized in his hand. "Charge!"

With enthusiastic yells the soldiers ran right behind their ruler, clutching recently made ectoblasters in their arms. They ran to the destroyed wall, and in a few jumps ran up the small hill, before being greeted by intense fire. Walker's guards were armed with police sticks, which could fire ectogoo. They were armed only to capture, not kill. That's why several soldiers were trapped and fell on the ground. However, it put the Stormtroopers out of the game just as effectively.

They, on the other hand, fired from their weapons. The guards hid behind the police shields, which blocked blaster fire. The prisoners who had the windows out to the street watched with marvel at the transpiring battle. Some tried to find a way to escape, while the entire security was occupied.

Phantom deflected several blasts, before pushing the entire firmly squad forward. The shields weren't protecting them anymore. Those who could still move started to retreat backwards. Then much to their surprise, they were fired at from behind and above. Valerie was firing down at the retreating ghosts, cutting off any retreat. Finally the sixty remaining guards were surrounded.

Danny clapped sarcastically, making all of them turn towards him.

"Congratulations, you stood your ground for...ten minutes, nice," he noted. "Where is your boss, though? I don't see him anywhere."

"We were simply ordered to fight you," one of them said.

"Seems like Walky doesn't trust you well enough," he shrugged. "But I have an offer, and I hope you are smarter than the warden."

"I have a better idea."

Walker became visible, pointing a revolver at Phantom's temple. "How about I end your miserable existence?"

"Stand down," Danny commanded, seeing his soldiers turning their weapons at the warden. "And where is your go-to boy? Ah, yes, he is pointing another gun at my chest. Would you kindly to show yourself, Bullet?"

The ghost became visible as well, holding another revolver in his hand, confused about how Phantom knew where he was. Ghost sense didn't work in the Ghost Zone."

"This is what we are going to do, your men get out of MY prison, or we'll make a few holes in your body."

"Or what?" Danny asked innocently. "Shoot me and my soldiers will turn you into a puddle of ectoplasm. You won't dare."

Walker growled as Phantom made a valid point.

"Let's solve this issue personally. If you and Bullet beat me, we will leave. If I win, you step down from your position. How does that sound?"

The warden contemplated the issue. Of all the possibilities, it had the biggest chance of positive outcome.

"Fine, punk, but no funny tricks."

Suddenly Phantom was grabbed in a handlock behind his back. Alright, that part was unexpected, Danny had to admit.

Walker was about to kick him in the face, but Phantom jumped and kicked the warden in his jaw. A loud crack was heard by anyone, along with Walker's yell of pain. Even though the skeleton was absent from the ghosts' body, Walker actually WAS the skeleton, partially at least. While the warden backed off, Danny kicked Bullet with the back of his head, before they swapped positions. Now Phantom held the ghost in a deathly grip, while pushing the rest of his body forward and pinning the ghost to the ground. When Walker regained his composure, he was shocked to find that the stark haired man was about to rip Bullet's hands off.

Before the warden could do anything, Bullet screamed in pain.

"Oh, stop being a crybaby. Remember numerous times you two nroke my hands," Phantom said.

Valerie stared at his display of brutality. Danny surely had changed, and some of that changes weren't exactly right.

Walker charged an ectoblast, but Danny summoned a shield which blocked it. He finally let go of Bullet, before approaching Walker. He avoided several shots from revolver. It fired usual bullets dipped in ectoplasm. It could cause serious damage. Once in range, Phantom threw a kick at the warden. Walker blocked the hit with his free hand, and tried to fire at Danny's gut. He pressed the trigger, but suddenly the gun exploded in his hand. He made a few steps back, clutching his burned palm.

"What. The HELL?!" he exclaimed.

"Simple, I didn't let your gun to fire by keeping bullet inside of it," Phantom grinned. "Now, you better surrender..."

His hand glowed with crimson red color, and every ghost stared in shock, awe and fear at the biggest display of power the ghost can ever show. Walker couldn't believe that the punk was so powerful.

"Because I won't give you ANOTHER chance."

"I...I surrender," Walker hissed through gritted teeth.

Phantom smirked, before turning to the guards. "You heard him, gentlemen. From now on, this prison and the territory of ten miles in radius belong to the Sith Empire. I'll send Walker's replacement soon. You won't be workless, all you need to do is kneel before your Emperor."

That tactic always worked perfectly. Give people the choice while they actually had no choice.

 **A.N. I know there wasn't much interaction between Danny and Valerie, but it is to come. Also, someone gonna be jealous.**


	24. Chapter XXIV: Bounty on Bounty Hunter

The conquered Ghost Zone region had received a status of Imperial province. It was the smallest, though. Phantom planned on getting more allies, maybe even vassals, securing the Empire's position. Some leaders visited him, and Danny, previously suspecting that, remained in the Zone. They were asking to sign either non-agression pacts, aligning treaty or protection requests. The most interesting moment was when Dora came to him, seeking protection. Danny gave her a warm greeting, before agreeing on her proposal. In exchange for protection against foreign threats, she allowed Imperial commissars to enlist volunteers among her people.

Since the prison fell under the Empire, all prisoners' cases were reviewed by Jurisdiction Committee. Most of them were freed and even offered to join Stormtroopers, since Walker made new pointless rules each day at the breakfast, at lunch and at diner. Not many agreed to join, though, they had own concerns. However, one person was ordered to be brought before the Emperor despite his protests. He was led by the guards through the corridors.

He was wearing a full suit of metal armor, with green flaming hair pulled into mohawk style, and green eyes without pupils. Above his suit of armor, the prisoner was wearing orange prison robes.

Finally the person was pushed inside the room. There the prisoner saw the new warden. What he did NOT expect is to see a damn raptor standing behind the desk. He had yellow scales, and that caste of society mostly consisted scientists of the former Imperium, and was positioned in the middle of pyramid. He had a device on his throat, which allowed to speak Basic, despite throat's build. But it was unneeded when conversing with ghosts.

"What the hell are you?" The prisoner asked rudely.

"The warden of course," the alien squawked. "My name is Spil'ktlik, but I summoned you here not to chat with you myself. His Majesty wishes to speak to you."

Before he could say anything, the prisoner heard a voice to his side.

"My, my, the armor got quite rusty, Skulker. For how long have you sat here?"

The ghost turned and saw grinning Phantom, who was sitting on an armchair with crossed legs.

"Whelp?"

"Hello to you too, tin can," Danny deadpanned, drinking from a glass. "Take a seat."

Skulker was pushed forward with the butt of the guards' guns. Glaring at them, Skulker still sat on a chair.

"What do you want?" He asked the stark haired man.

"Ah, you see, there is a problem, pal. You have attempted to hunt down a rare animal, which is forbidden not only by Walker, but by our laws as well. Which means our respected warden can't let you out," Danny gestured at the Ssi-ruuk. "But, you can earn my signature under document of forgiveness of your crimes. I have a task for you. Fulfill it, and you will be free."

"I'm interested."

"Of course you are," Phantom mumbled, making another sip.

Skulker narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Danny chuckled. "I was gone for one year and you made your girlfriend pregnant. I don't even want to know how you managed to pull that off."

The hunter's jaw dropped. "I'm...a FATHER?!"

"Yep. I'm being merciful because I have a daughter myself. So, I think you want to see the birth of your kid?"

"Can I see him?" Skulker obviously missed the part about Phantom's daughter.

"Well, not yet. Ember is on her sixth month. But, you may see her before you depart on your task, yes. You can communicate with her during the completion as well, if you don't share details, of course."

"Just tell me what you need."

Phantom took out a datapad and handed it to the man. "Here is the entire information. But in short, I need your hunting skills. You could find me on another side of the globe without any sensors, so I want you to find the one who tried to assassinate me. You will be given a ship and a personal pilot."

Skulker examined the device and read it. "Are there any leads?"

"Yes, the controllable rockets used by the assassin are made only on Krell war factories. Krell is a heavily industrialized planet in central sector of the Empire. It once belonged to one of the Noble Families, and they still possess some influence over that world. Some in the board of directors may still sympathize loyalists."

"Then why not get rid of them?"

"First, I don't know who exactly is guilty of treason. Second, we lack loyal and at the same time professional personnel. Do you know Zimbabwe? They confiscated the land from white farmers who stayed since colonial times and gave it to black ones. But since they didn't know a thing about agriculture, their economy spiralled downwards. I had to choose between POSSIBLY disloyal directors or an obvious blow to Imperial industry, which had already suffered during the civil war. Anyways, the rest of the information you may need is there. Are we in agreement?"

"I need to repair my armor."

"You have four days, the longer we wait, the assassin gets further. And don't try to fool me, you will regret this quickly. Spil'ktlik, would you kindly to free him and send along soldiers to accommodate him home?"

"Yes, My Lord," the alien bowed, before watching the Emperor leaving the room.

Phantom was planning to return to the capital soon, or maybe even go to the frontline, but he could not do that without fulfilling one last thing. When Danny came out of the portal, he became invisible and flew upwards. He didn't want an unwanted attention to such a private matter. It concerned only him, him and people buried under several meters of dirt.

His white boots made a soft thud after hitting the stone ground. In a slow pace Danny walked through the metal fence, before stepping on a path made of small gravel. It crunched quietly beneath his feet, as the ghost went deeper and deeper inside the graveyard. He saw multiple gravestones, black, gray, with pictures or without them. Not a single living soul was present on that territory as of right now. At the moment, Phantom fit his name as never before. Under the light of pearly white moon, which hadn't yet reached its peak, he truly looked like a ghost he was - a shining figure almost soundlessly wandering among fellow dead.

Finally Danny reached his destination. A tall bronze memorial, a pedestal with three statues, two girls of different age and one boy. On a pedestal was an engraved writing 'Gone, but not forgotten'.

Danny slowly traced his palm down the writing. "Some things aren't set in stone, they are set in bronze," he said in heavy voice. A heavy lump formed in his throat for the first time in entire year as sorrow came over him. "I'm sorry," Danny rasped. "It's my fault, I know you would have told me it isn't and I know you won't respond now, but..." he let a shaky sigh. "If only I left in time, that...beasts wouldn't have killed you. My ignorance is as guilty as they are, and I think I will carry this burden on me for eternity."

He then looked up, the soft green glow of his eyes was reflected by a small tear slipping down his left cheek.

"I just hope that you can forgive me, guys," Danny whispered.

His hand was covered with bright blue light, and a glassy flower made of ice grew in his hand.

"Rest in peace," he put the flower on the pedesrial, before dissappearing in a cloud of smoke.

Phantom returned on Hyperion very soon, right into his quarters. There he was greeted by an adorable sight, which made him smile faintly. Dani seemed content playing with Komand, while the latter glared daggers at the older ghost. The girl had put several flowers in her hair and proclaimed the woman her fairy guardian. Komand was touched, of course, but she disliked that Danny didn't join the embarrassment. Phantom walked to get himself a cup of coffee, all the while keeping a smile on his face. He had people to care for, and that's all what mattered.

"One day, Phantom," Komand threatened softly. But her look completely obliterated threatening image. "I'm going to get you back for this."

Danny heard this from another end of the room. He turned around with a cup of coffee in his hand. Coffee machine was a part of furniture now. Phantom walked to her playfully.

"Good luck with that, dear," he smiled, lowering his head. "I'm untouchable."

He became intangible, and Komand's boot flew straight through his body. Keeping a grin on his face, Danny stepped away from her. Suddenly, a voice communicator beeped on his table, and Phantom walked over to answer it. Dani meanwhile opened the bag of hair bows, making Komand curse internally for even allowing her to buy it during their small shopping trip. Phantom asked her to buy a few toys for the girl, and maybe some clothes.

Danny watched as the girl put the bows in Komand's hair, before pressing a button on the communicator and putting it to his ear.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Your Highness, there is a situation," The officer's voice was heard from another end.

Dani then turned to her Daddy and her eyes lit up. The girl approached the Emperor, with a bunch of brows in her small arms. Danny's already pale skin became white as paper sheet as he realized what was about to happen.

"Dani," Phantom whispered, moving the phone away. "I'm talking."

"I'll be quiet," she swore with puppy eyes. Danny felt his ice orb for a heart melting down.

Sighing and giving a nod, Phantom sat on a bed, as the girl climbed on it as well. Komand laughed quietly from her place at seeing Dani putting all the hair brows into Danny's snowy locks, while he was talking. The arosen issue was an unexpected arrival of a shuttle. Apparently, Phantom forgot to mention that they were having guests. He ordered the officer to greet them and lead to the bridge. He will soon get there as well. Danny made a duplicate and sent him there, and Komand was willing to join. Original Danny stayed with baby girl, who was having fun judging from her happy giggles.

Phantom walked through the corridors, before noticing his friend's confusion.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked.

"Did you make a clone of yourself or..."

"Duplication. Both bodies share the same consciousness, and if one of us is killed, the second will still remain alive and completely non harmed. Helps with paperwork."

Her expression was a mixture of amusement and surprise. Phantom was pretty much immortal if he could just move his consciousness into another body.

"Sometimes I wonder why you need military," she commented as they were going up inside the elevator.

"I can't destroy fleets or armies with a flick of a hand. Yet," he responded with a playful smirk.

Komand rolled her eyes, before the doors slid open. After casual greeting procedure, the two started to wait for their guests. Soon the door slid open, and the Grays family walked in, looking around in amazement. Komand crossed her hands and raised an eyebrow. She didn't know humans had different skin colors. Danny grinned and clasped his hands, once he put the cup on a table.

"Ah, finally," he greeted and approached them. "I trust your trip went well."

"You didn't need to land a ship right in a middle of the road," Valerie deadpanned.

Danny snorted, before patting her on shoulder. "Well, you see, Val, those people are not used to roads," he gestured with his palm towards the crew, who didn't get a single word.

"So, what is going to happen now?" Mr. Gray asked.

"Lightspeed or something?" Valerie added.

Phantom smirked. "Well, you see, Hyperion is equipped with class 1.5 class Hyperspace engine. The fastest to be put on a ship of this size. We actually travel faster than light."

"This is not possible," Damon noted. "How can you break the laws of the universe?"

"We simply follow the laws of another one. Commence hyperspace jump to Babylon!" Danny ordered.

The crew had previously prepared to do that, so all what was needed is pull the lever. White dots of stars turned into lines as the ship launched several light years away in a blink. Phantom interrupted humans' stunned observation by snapping his fingers.

"Let me show your temporal quarters," he said. "Your belongings will be taken there."

As they walked through several corridors, which took quite some time, since the ship was two miles long. Danny was lively chatting with Valerie, sharing tales of events which happened with each other during the last year. Komand was confused about a strange feeling deep inside her stomach, she never felt anything like it, but it made her angrier for some reason. Thankfully, when Danny accompanied Grays to the room, he left them alone to get accustomed.

"Komand," he suddenly snapped the woman out of her thoughts. "You alright, you have been quiet the entire way."

She looked up and saw Danny's worried face. For some reason, she found it cute.

"I'm fine," she responded curtly, looking away with reddening face. "It was your friend, I take it?"

"Yes. She and her Dad, I've offered them a job."

An awkward silence settled between them, before Danny came up with an idea.

"Hey," Komand looked at him. "How about a little training?"

She smirked slightly. "If you are up to it, 'Master'."

The next two hours had passed incredibly quickly. And in a specialized room two Force users were occupied with dueling. Komand was sweating and panting for breath, and Danny would have been too if not for physiology. He was holding an ectostaff, while she turned off her lightsaber. He was working only in the defensive, slightly poking her sides with weapon, showing her the flaws. That's why he picked the staff, so he won't accidentally cut her, besides, there were also double bladed lightsabers, so she could learn fighting against it as well.

"For thousandth time...this is...UNFAIR," the apprentice panted. "You never get tired!"

"BUT I get very hungry. I really want to eat now," Danny's stomach growled. "On a good side, you are getting better."

A fully trained lightsaber combatant should know all six forms of combat, and Komand was now studying the last one, called Niman. It was a mixture of all forms, possessing all their bonuses and all their disadvantages. Danny didn't think it could be called a fighting form, in his opinion it was a simple improvisation and swapping of forms. But, Komand had to learn it, Phantom won't let her lose and die. He will do everything to make her stronger.

"So, ready for another round?"

Komand turned on the crimson blade and took a battle stance. "Bring it."

Danny decided to play in offensive, and lunged forward. He swung the blunt weapon and the woman blocked it and made a step back, not letting his superior strength to overwhelm her. Danny smiled internally, she became very thoughtful in the fights. He attempted to use another end of the staff to strike on unprotected side. Komand made another step back, moving the lightsaber down. The staff was forced to go upwards, and she had an opportunity to kick her Master with her elbow, but Danny parried the strike.

"Good one," the ghost commented as he formed some distance between them. "But I won't buy the same trick twice."

They engaged in another series of blows and parries. So far they were evenly matched, since it was only a sword fight, without the Force usage. Komand made another strike and Danny parried it by raising his weapon. The apprentice used her leg and kicked Phantom in gut. Danny made a step back, before she continued to swing her blade in a whirlwind of strikes. His natural ghostly reaction helped him quickly react to her attacks.

Phantom blocked another hit and suddenly slipped it lower in his hold, and to her surprise, his face was now right near hers, as well as the edge of the staff. He grinned.

"Boop," he said, slightly poking her nose with the staff. In reality, it would have been a lightsaber, so she lost.

Komand narrowed her eyes and turned off the lightsaber. She sighed. "Damn it," she cursed under her nose. "When will I do it?!"

"Patience, Komand, you are actually doing wonderfully. In one year you have learned what takes decades to master for an average Jedi or a Sith," Danny smiled brightly.

The apprentice smiled slightly at the praise. "Well...I had a nice teacher," she mumbled, refusing to look into his eyes.

Phantom put a hand on her chin and gently turned her head to face him. Neon green eyes were intertwined with deep purple ones as she looked up at the taller man. Komand had a surprised expression on her face as she reddened. Neither of them said anything, Danny could feel a bit ragged breath of his apprentice on his face. He couldn't feel anything from her, because of a sheer whirlwind of emotions inside of her. He wasn't able to pinpoint the exact feelings. When Danny was about to say something, his eye caught something.

Two Force Users let go of each other. Valerie was standing in a doorway with amused expression on her face.

"Am I interrupting anything?" She asked.

"Oh...ehm...no, you are not," Danny rambled as the ectoplasm flushed to his face, causing a wrong assumption rise in "Right, Komand?" He asked.

"Yes, nothing," the apprentice mumbled, but everyone heard the phrase nevertheless.

Why did Danny feel sadness?

"I'll get going now," Komand said, walking out of the room and giving a brief glare at the dark skinned woman.

Valerie raised her eyebrow as the door shut behind the yuth. "Who was that?" She asked.

"Ah, I forgot to introduce you two," Danny facepalmed, putting another hand on his belt. "It was Komand, she is my apprentice."

"Apprentice?"

"It's a long story, but in short, this is the first step in recreating the Je'daii Order. I'll teach her, she will start training others while I take another apprentice, etc. We practice using both the Light and Dark sides of the Force, so we are neither Jedi or Sith."

"But you rule the 'Sith Empire'," she said confused.

"I have my political reasons for this temporal name. Now we conquer new lands and reclaim the ones which once belonged to the Old Sith Empire. When we engage the Republic, the name will be changed. The banner will stay, though, it's cool."

Valerie rolled her eyes. He was still kid deep inside. "So...is Komand something...more than the apprentice?"

Danny furrowed his eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You really are the clueless one," Valerie shook her head.

"Alright, alright, I am, mind sharing why?"

She smirked, "You know what, figure it out yourself, master of intrigues."

"Hey, where are you going?" Danny asked at seeing the woman going away. "Hey!"

The door closed, and the still clueless Emperor was left alone.


	25. Chapter XXV: The ruined ball

**A.N. I hate being a bit perfectionist, but let's get to 200 follows, hm?**

"Danielle, stop shifting, please," Danny said.

"It hurts!" Ths girl whined, causing her father to sigh.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I'm not very good at combing hair. I mean, look at mine," Phantom pointed at his messy haircut, earning giggles from Dani.

Danny had refused an offer to let servants handle this matter. After all, he was her father, and he intended to be one. Phantom didn't want to be like one of those monarchs who leave their children completely without any attention. He will give her every ounce of love and attention she deserved and he could give. It was an important day for the entire Empire, the day when it officially gets a heiress. Danny ordered the tailor to make clothes for such occasion.

Her chest clothes were black, with bright green edges, with its black top ending right below her shoulders. She also wore dark gray skirt with fluffy ends, and a white bow tie on her chest, along with white gloves and white and green boots. Dani liked it a lot, the colors made her look like her Daddy.

Finally older Phantom came up with idea. He tried to pull the girl's long hair back, and managed to make a ponytail. Danny then used a brush and fixed the remaining hair. He took a look on his little Phantom, before a loving smile appeared on his face.

"Oh, you are so adorable!" Danny couldn't resist hugging the child and lifting her in the air. Dani hugged him in response and giggled.

"Uhm, Your Highness, it is time."

Phantom looked at the doorway and saw one of droid lackeys standing in the doorway, holding a pillow with his crown on it. Danny sighed and put the girl on the ground. "Are you ready, baby girl?" He asked.

"Aha," she nodded eagerly.

Danny took the ice crown and put it on his head, before exiting the room and walking through the corridor as Dani followed him. Near the big doors Phantom looked at the small princess clutching his arm.

"Dani, stay with this droid until I call for you, alright?"

"Alright, Daddy," the girl smiled adorably.

"I'll watch over her, My Lord."

Danny's look held an obvious message 'you better'. He turned around and opened the doors widely, walking out on a big balcony. There was already a microphone on a railing waiting for him. From the balcony he received a view over the entire huge forum. It was overcrowded with people, who cheered loudly at seeing the Emperor. When Phantom made a sign, non-verbally asking to be more quiet. The crowd listened to his request, and he started to speak.

"Dear citizens of the Empire," he greeted with his famous disarming smile. His voice reasoned across the entire square as multiple news droids floated around to get a footage, transmitting it all across the interstellar state. "I'm returning to our beautiful capital with joyous news! First, I'd like to welcome former planets of Hobl Princedom as a part of our country, as well as Solar system. Along with following the interests of the Empire while visiting it, I admit, I also pursued my own personal interests."

"I grew up on this only inhabited planet of Solar system. By visiting it again after my exile, I was confronted by the ghosts of my past. I can say that some meetings were pleasant, and some weren't. However, one meeting in particular, granted me joy beyond any measure. I've been looking for it ever since I stepped my foot on the planet's soil again. My 'departure' has been so abrupt, I didn't have time to say proper goodbyes and the most important thing to me was left in care of my close friends. It pains me that I wasn't present during the first years of her life."

That part confused most of the watching populace. Danny meanwhile gave a shining smile.

"But now my family has finally reunited again. Let me present you, Danielle Jasmine Phantom, the Crown Princess of the Empire and my daughter!"

Phantom looked back and gestured for Dani to come closer, and the girl ran to her father. Danny picked her up, and the entire country saw the small child, before bursting into loud cheers. Dani flinched.

"Why are they shouting, Daddy?" She asked.

Danny turned off microphone for a moment. "Because they like you, my dear. How about you say hi?" He turned on the device again.

Dani blinked "Hi!" She said shyly and waved her hand, unaware that microphone was making her louder.

Some, if not a half of the crowd awed at her adorableness. Danny had a feeling that she had already earned the population's love. He had the last announcement to make.

"I wish that every person, who calls our country his home could feel the same level of joy as I do. And so, I decided to commence a celebration on each planet we own. Rejoice, the Empire, and have a wonderful week!"

The crowd cheered again, and the Royal family turned to leave after a minute of watching. Dani seemed happy, and Danny was smiling too. But on the inside, he was worried. Now, all bets were off. He had to get rid of loyalists, completely. Because as long as they live, his little Phantom was in danger.

The last day of the celebration week was in a big ball and planned on the evening, where the Imperial elite was invited. Since all the noble families had been either purged or strapped from power, there was a different kind of intelligentsia. Military and Navy commanders had received an invitation for war achievements, different CEOs of state controlled companies for economical wonders. Some nobles had actually visited the balls if the Emperor deemed their deeds worthy, like charity or philanthropy. Some obviously did it not because of righteous intentions, but at least they were forced to do something useful. And of course, they were being watched just in case.

Also, heads of recently conquered states, or their successors, in case Phantom decided they were too dangerous to keep around, were also invited. So, there were two new guests: Prince Loke, who now ruled the Princedom, and until the invasion was not a candidate for the throne, and President Lockheart of newly formed Terran Confederacy. He used to be the Head of UN at the time, so it was logical to grant him a temporal position until the first elections. Confederacy was also a temporary measure, until the nations would be ready to turn into Federation.

And of course, Dani had to attend. A few hours before the ball, Phantom was in his cabinet. He pressed a few buttons and the hologram came into view.

"Skulker," he greeted, "How is your investigation going?"

"So far I've gathered some information. This kind of rockets can be used only on BPLA interceptors, but only your army purchases those...you already knew that, I get it. Anyways, they also require special software and hardware present only in them. So, there should have been one interceptor which was either used itself, or was torn scrapped for those detail. And with a war going on, it was complicated. I hope I AM allowed to go where Krell Directorate forbids to go?"

"Consider me nodding," Danny smirked, leaning back in his leather chair. "I take it you have already done so without my content?"

Skulker flinched. "Yes...I've breached their security and got a hold on their documents. This is where it gets interesting. Have you read Directorate production report?"

"Yes, they reported about...twenty thousand built interceptors. It went according to production plan."

In the Imperial system, capitalism existed along with planned economy, and the Emperor had recently ordered to begin Six Month Plan. It concerned state run companies mostly, but big enough independent companies were obliged to build more factories and infrastructure in order to grow economy and create working places on planets where working places were required. If Phantom wanted to fight against the Republic, the Empire needed strong economy, and it was just an experiment for now. If it will be a success, such scheme shall remain, and Five year plans will be implemented.

"Was that your idea making factories report directly as well? It is rather useful, Directorate reports about twenty thousand, but the factory says they made twenty one thousand. In the report they boasted about overly successful three months of production."

"One thousand lost interceptors," Phantom shook his head. "All those vehicles, they could be used to save lives of our soldiers...how long it will take for them to steal a freaking dreadnought?!" He slammed the table with his fist and got up. "And later that people will complain about me being a cruel warmonger who sends young men and women to death."

Skulker wasn't sure about interrupting the monarch's rant. Thankfully Danny used his trained ability to calm himself down. Suddenly, a thought occured in the ghost's mind.

"Director Nimot is invited to the ball," he realized. "I'll have a private chat with him, he better explain why his report is different from that of the factory complex. Good job, Skulker, await further instructions and try to avoid attention."

Phantom turned off the hologram and sighed. The young Emperor looked out of the big wall wide window. As was previously mentioned, only ninety percents of the planet were covered by megapolis. By his edict, Babylon tropical forest was declared untouchable and given a status of National Park. It was also a nice view out of the Emperor's cabinet.

Danny put his hands behind his back and tapped on the ground.

"No one said bringing peace to the galaxy will be simple," he mumbled, before walking away.

The second sun of Babylon had set. The celebration was approaching and the ball room had enough place to fit everyone. It was overcrowded with the most influential people of the Empire, dressed in the richest clothing they could afford. They formed cliques counting from three to seven individuals, bragging about their achievements. Some were more humble than others, but that was all Danny's sensitive hearing could catch.

Many people brought their kids, and Danny knew why, since the majority of children were boys. Phantom had to resist facepalm. Dani was THREE, for goodness sake. And even if she wasn't, they didn't live in Medieval times, and there weren't many important monarchs. He didn't need to marry his daughter in order to gain something for his Empire. Danny wanted his girl to marry by love, and he didn't care who his future son-in-law will be, as long as he is a nice man.

And speaking of whom, Phantom decided to keep Dani closer to him, and the girl was both thankful and disgruntled because of that. She felt uncomfortable being alone around so many unknown people, but she was bored out of her mind, being forced to stand on one place, not being able to go anywhere.

"...to say that I was surprised would be an understatement, but it was a great surprise indeed. Having a daughter from the woman I loved is the greatest gift I could ever ask for. Danielle's mother, Arkeus bless her soul, wasn't able to live through the birth process," Danny told the same exact story five times.

Five times Dani had to go through this tormenting.

"Daddy, can I go to the bathroom?" She looked up at Danny.

Phantom looked around and noticed the lack of company around. He smirked down at her.

"Is this just an excuse to get to your room?"

Dani shifted on her legs and smiled innocently, showing her white teeth. Danny just chuckled.

"I know it's boring, sweetheart, but please, wait a little longer, alright?"

Dani pouted, but nodded. "Hey, can you bring me a glass of water, please? I really could use a drink."

The girl nodded again. "Okay, Daddy," she beamed and walked away.

Phantom smiled at the three years old, before returning to his guests. Danny approached one man in particular and smirked.

"Ah, here comes the hero of the day!" Phantom called, clapping his hands.

Haseas turned to him and smirked as well. The man was wearing black and gray uniform, on his chest was a rectangular badge, made of six blue squares and six red squares. The badge showed the ranks of Imperial officers. To the left and to the right from the badge were four cilinders, which looked like ball pens to unaware eyes. They consisted important codes, that's why they were held closely.

"I suppose congratulations are in order," Danny smiled, shaking the older man's hand.

"If you will be so generous, Your Majesty," the yuth smirked.

"Good job, Lord General," Danny patted him on back. "How is your kid doing?"

Haseas rolled his eyes. "Your thoughts are only on kids now, huh?"

Danny shrugged. "Pretty much."

The man chuckled. "I can tell. I felt the same way when Johnor was born. He now wants to go to Imperial Academy once he turns nineteen, by the way."

"Following his father's footsteps," Danny smiled.

"Are you ready to take such a responsibility? A child is not a pet."

"I know that, but it was my decision to let her live. I've long since learned to accept responsibilities for my actions."

"Of that I have no doubts," Haseas smirked, emptying his glass.

"Daddy!"

They both turned to the source and looked down. Dani was standing there with a bottle of water. Phantom raised an eyebrow.

"Dani, I asked to bring me a glass of water."

"I know," the girl mumbled, shifting nervously. "There weren't any windows."

Phantom and Haseas looked at each other in confusion. "Uhm, what do you mean?"

"You said a glass of water, glass is in the windows, right?" Dani asked innocently.

Both adult started choking down their laughter. Danny smiled down at his baby girl.

"Not that glass, sweetie," he chuckled, taking the bottle. "Glass for drinks. Don't worry, I've got one already."

"You have?" Haseas asked.

"Yes, thanks for holding it, Haseas," Danny said, taking the glass from the Lord General's hand. The man blinked in surprise and looked at his empty hand.

Danny poured water into the glass and drank the beverage. Haseas meanwhile looked around.

"Hey, kid, I don't see your girlfriend anywhere."

Phantom made a confused expression. "I don't have a girlfriend."

Haseas rolled his eyes. "Seriously? You spend most of your free time with your 'apprentice'."

"She isn't my girlfriend," Danny sighed. "Why everyone assumes that?"

The man smirked knowingly. "I don't know about how the others thought about that, but personally, it's all just familiar to me. There is just that barely noticeable spark in your eyes when you look at her. My old man used to say the same thing about me. Tell me honestly, do you have any feelings about her?"

Danny tapped on the ground with his white boot. "Maybe...I didn't have much experience with this," he sighed. "I mean, there was a short relationship, then a huge affection for a girl who is long gone now."

"There is the first time for everything, kid...wait, you had a girlfriend?"

Danny's lips formed a thin line as he looked at the Lord General.

Suddenly an announcer near the doors coughed. What a lazy job, just to stand on one place and tell who was coming.

"Newest arrival, Lady Komand'r, Duchess of Limon, Viscountess of Shkaff and Baroness of Babylon."

As the guy was talking, Komand entered the room, and Danny felt his face greening. She was wearing slim black dress, which ended right above her feet. Her left leg was shown through a split in the outfit, and the woman moved on black low heeled shoes. Komand had combed her short and wavy hair into kare, and it seemed to fit the yuth wonderfully. On her hands were black leather gloves, and a coat of black lipstick on her lips. Her eyes immediately fell on Phantom as she approached him. Haseas nudged the Emperor slightly.

"Well, you'll have plenty of time," he whispered and walked off.

Komand watched as Haseas went away, before looking up at Danny. Phantom snapped out of observation.

"I...didn't know you would come," he commented.

"Does that mean I'm unwelcomed here?" The woman raised her eyebrow.

"No, of course not," Danny smiled. "You just never attended these balls."

Komand felt something clutching her leg. Dani was beaming up at her. "Wow, you look awesome, Komy," she said.

The woman felt both her hearts melting at the girl's words. Surely, no fashion expert could give such a strong praise.

"Oh, thank you," Komand smiled and lowered herself to Dani's eyelevel and hugged her. "What a nice dress you are wearing!" She said in awed voice.

"Really?" At the woman's nod, Dani got stars in her eyes.

Danny chuckled at the exchange. "So...duchess."

Komand rolled her eyes and got up. "We both know that those titles mean nothing," she deadpanned.

Phantom shrugged. "It still has funny sounding to it," he said, trying to sip from the glass. "Maybe I'll even use it as nickname for ya."

The apprentice took the glass and drank the water herself. Karma was instant this time. After some time of silence, Komand felt impatience radiating from her friend.

"Danny, what's wrong?" She asked.

Phantom sighed and gestured for her to follow, taking Dani's hand. When they got to the secure placd, he retold Komand everything he learned from Skulker, carefully avoiding harsh words in his daughter's presence. Not that Dani understood much from what they talked about.

"And what are you going to do next?"

Danny shrugged and crossed his hands. "I am actually planning to use another means of military production. If we indirectly strap Directorate from its grip over our war industry, loyalists won't have any new weapons."

Komand looked at him in confusion. How was he going to do that? Before she could ask, the music changed to a much slower one. As a thought occured in her mind, Komand blushed slightly. Surprisingly, Danny had the same one. He smiled and turned to the woman.

"May I invite you to a dance, Duchess?" Phantom asked, offering his hand, and Komand became completely red.

"Well, I don't mind," she smiled slightly as well.

Suddenly, the announcer spoke again.

"Director Nimot of Krell War Directorate!"

At that both Force Users perked up and immediately turned to the doors. They opened and a mid aged man went inside the hall. He was a yuth, with short black beard and black eyes. He was wearing red and blue tunic with a leather belt and black boots. The Director approached the Emperor and bowed slightly. Danny had a calm expression on his face.

"Greetings, Your Highness, it is my greatest pleasure to be here."

Phantom faked a welcoming smile. "Please, the pleasure is all mine, Director."

The man nodded at Komand. "Duchess," he greeted,and Danny couldn't suppress a quiet snort of laughter. Then he looked at Dani, who unconsciously clutched to her father's leg. "Ah, that's the little princess everyone is talking about. Hello, there, little one."

"Hi," Dani responded quietly.

"Forgive her, she is shy around new people," Phantom put in.

"That's alright, Your Majesty. Now, I'm sorry to interrupt your evening, but there is a matter which I'm afraid cannot wait."

Danny sighed, glancing at Komand, whose lips formed a thin line. "Alright, but be quick," he said, before looking at his friend. "Later," he mouthed.

Phantom and Nimot walked out on the balcony. It was easily accessible from the hall, and at the same time very secluded.

"So, what is it?" Danny asked leaning against a railing.

"I have a request, My Lord. I'm not asking for an immediate decision, just for you to consider it."

Phantom waved his hand. "I'm listening."

"I found a way to minimize our infrastructure spendings. As you probably know, Krell now lacks almost all resources and has to import them. And thus, there are wastes for fuel, crew payment..." a tiny note of displeasure escaped his mouth. "And other things. I propose to move some of our factories on another planet, rich with minerals. Directorate has recently discovered just the planet for it."

Danny raised his eyebrow. "I hope you aren't asking for state funding of this ordeal."

"It would have been generous, but I cannot allow myself to demand something from you, My Lord."

Phantom tapped on his chin and hummed in thought. "This shall be a small arms factory, in case we will have to change it to fit civilian needs. I want guarantees that it will turn into profits or be any of use."

Danny had own reasons for that. His plan won't require any war factories at all, and he will need to converse them into normal ones, in order to keep working places for people. Besides, he could always switch them back to war industry.

Nimot didn't seem fully satisfied. "The War Council requested more tanks and walkers, My Lord. We are already making more guns and ammo than we have soldiers. But we have lost a lot of ground vehicles in this war, and we must build more."

Phantom tapped on the railing. "And why the War Council hasn't informed me about such crucial lack of vehicles that you need to build an entire factory?"

"I don't know, Your Highness."

The Emperor's eyes glowed brighter as he looked at the older man. "Really? Just like you don't know about a thousand of interceptors?"

"What do you mean?" Nimot asked, and Phantom felt nervousness growing inside of him.

"I can ask another question, are all loyalists so bad at hiding tracks? My old accomplice has found a peculiar report, factories tell me one thing and you tell completely another. Twenty thousand and twenty one thousand, considerable difference, too big to miss. Mind explaining?"

"And what makes you think I was the one who lied?"

"Because of how pointless it will be. Punishments for false reports still exist. It is impossible to fake report by telling about producing more. It can be checked with a pinky finger on my foot. However, you can hide what was produced when you report about producing less. Besides, I checked how many resources were used to produce all that ships. And, surprisingly, there is enough to make more than twenty thousand. Maybe you are not a loyalist, but there is still a faked document. Explain."

Nervousness radiated from Nimot in seemingly industrial amounts. Phantom tapped with his foot impatiently.

Suddenly, Danny felt an approaching danger. He raised his hand and the upcoming red blast hit a green barrier.

"So that's why we are talking on the balcony," he deadpanned, before feeling something cold pressing against his temple.

"Exactly, smartmouth," Nimot said.

Phantom only grinned, before slightly waving his hand, making the blaster fly away. He then kicked the man in his knee and then his head. Once he was down, Danny shot sticky ectogoo so he couldn't get away.

"Stick around."

Then Phantom sidestepped another shot, and this time he was able to see where it came from. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke, before teleporting to a skyscraper a few miles away. When he got there, Danny immediately blocked a punch and made a step back, blocking hit after hit. The bounty hunter then took out a blaster and opened fire. Phantom used an ancient technique of Tutaminis in response. And since his heart was a literal orb of energy, absorption of blaster bolts charged him as energy drink. Danny simply blocked a few blasts with his palm, before pushing the man into the window. It didn't break, but the weapon was dropped.

"Jeez, what a warm welcome," Danny complained.

"Do you ever shut up?"

The mercenary took out a vibrodagger and lunged forward. Phantom became intangible when the weapon was about to leave a cut. But, shockingly, even though it didn't pass him, it DID leave a nasty tear in his uniform and a slight cut on his skin. How was this possible?

The bounty hunter chuckled, "Surprised? My donators are quite resourceful."

"So I see, too sad all that money were wasted on such pathetic attempt on my afterlife," Danny responded with a teasing smirk.

Meanwhile back on the ball, Komand was sitting at the table completely alone, Dani didn't count, since the girl was too busy with food. Saying she was pissed off would have been an understatement. Suddenly, she heard someone sitting nearby. Valerie sat on a chair and looked at the apprentice.

"Hey there," the dark skinned woman greeted.

"Good evening," Komand grumbled.

"Jeez, grumpy much?"

Komand didn't respond, looking at the distance.

"So, we never actually had a chance to get to talk to each other."

"What can we possibly talk about?" The alien raised her eyebrow.

"I don't know," Valerie shrugged, before a tiny smirk appeared on her face. "How you and Danny met for example."

"Well, I was tasked with eliminating the threat of rebellion, which just so happened to be him."

Valerie snorted. "Why Danny always falls for girls who wanted to rip him a new one?"

Komand chuckled, before she processed what was said. "Wh-what do you mean?" She asked, reddening.

The former huntress groaned. "Not you too. C'mon, everyone around can see that you and Danny are more than just friends. And don't deny that," she added abruptly, seeing that the apprentice was about to object.

"And you are fine with that?"

Valerie raised her eyebrow. "Why are you asking for my con..." she stopped in midsentence, before bursting into laughter. Komand narrowed her eyes, but Valerie ignored it. "Girl, we ARE just friends now. I admit, I've lost my chance a few years ago and it was a mistake to break up. I'm not trying to hit on him now. Besides, he seems to be more interested in you," she smiled teasingly.

"Really?" Komand blurted.

"Yeah, but take my advice. Confront him about it sooner, because he is too..."

"Clueless?"

"I wouldn't have said that. Even he should have figured that by now. I think he is just not sure about what to do. He liked Sam a lot, but was afraid that if he confessed, their friendship would have been ruined. He didn't have time though, and she was murdered, along with everyone else he cared about. And when you two risk your lives on daily basis, I think you should confess each other sooner."

"I...I'll think about it," Komand mumbled, "Gods, are all humans try to be philosophers?"

"Danny is just overdramatical dork with his own view on life," they both snickered at a very accurate description. "And I'm just saying what I think and know."

Suddenly they heard several cries and sounds of blasts. Dani jumped on her seat in surprise, and women's eyes widened.

"Dani, get under the table and don't make a sound," Komand said, and the girl complied. Behind the tablecloth she was unnoticeable.

Through the front doors entered several men in combat armor. Judging from its customization, they didn't just steal it from the army. How did they get through the guards? The answer was obvious, but nonetheless unpleasant.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," one of them stepped forward. He wore black and orange armor, along with a helmet covering his face. "You probably know why we are here. And don't attempt to run, otherwise you will get a blaster bolt into your head. Now, where is our lovely princess?"


	26. Chapter XXVI: In search of superweapon

Silence settled in the room. And what was there to say? People found themselves in a peculiar position. If they remained silent, that terrorist was going to kill them. If they responded...Between the Emperor's wrath and a death threat from the armed maniacs they would rather pick the last one. Still, Phantom's rage was a theory, even if an obvious one, but rampant terrorists were standing before the guests. The leader sighed and made a few shots in the air.

"I'm waiting!" He shouted.

No one said a word, so the man decided to change an approach. His eyes fell on Komand, and he grinned behind his closed helmet.

"Well, well, well. Good evening, Duchess. Your father sends his regards."

While Komand growled slightly, Valerie was confused. She did not have time to learn about the Imperial politics.

"Then you probably know what happens if you all but lay a finger on me," Komand smirked.

"Damn, you are right, girl. What am I supposed to do now?" The man tapped on his chin theatrically. Then in a blink he slapped her so hard that everyone heard it. "Ah yes, I just remembered that I don't care because they need my services. If he doesn't pay me, others will. I repeat. Where. Is. The brat."

"Like hell I'll tell you," Komand said through gritted teeth.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, you just have to make it complicated. You care about the girl, don't you? I can't help but wonder, though..." he pointed a blaster at the woman's head. "Alright, princess, come out and no one will be harmed. If you don't, your friend won't come out ali...AGH!"

The mercenary grabbed his leg in pain. He looked to the side and saw Dani with an angry pout on her face. The girl hadn't yet realized how strong she actually was, but nevertheless she hit the man's leg using all her strength, which was that of a champion boxer.

"Stay away from Komy!" She exclaimed.

Komand used the distraction to use the Force push. The man dropped his blaster and was thrown into the wall. His companions didn't know what to do, but Komand had enough time to hide the girl behind her. Suddenly the woman took out the lightsaber out of nowhere.

"Where have you kept this thing?!" Valerie asked.

"You really want to know that?" Komand deadpanned.

The mercenary got up on his feet. "Enough, kill those two and get me the girl," he ordered and took out a reserve blaster.

They opened fire, and the room was covered in multiple red, blue and green blasts. The guests screamed and lied on a ground, hoping that the terrorists won't touch them. And they weren't planning to. Komand deflected several shots back to their senders, flipped the nearest table and hid behind it, Valerie followed and did the same thing. Dani was clutching the yuth woman tightly in fear. How strange is behavior of small kids, one second they kick the terrorist and then fear those same terrorists. Komand couldn't fight with Dani in her arms, but she noticed that Valerie was unarmed. She saw the mercenary's blaster lying on the ground and pulled it into her hand.

"Catch!" Komand called and Valerie took the blaster.

"I've never killed anyone!" The dark skinned woman called.

"Then use the stun mode, there is a switch on the left side."

Valerie did as was told, before peaking outside and firing. Blue ring of energy hit one of the assailants, knocking him out. Valerie's hair got a burn from minor impact from the terrorists. They had to take cover as well now. Komand felt Dani shaking even more.

"Where is Daddy?" She cried and looked up at her with teary face.

"Shh, don't worry, baby girl," Komand said, stroking her hair and using her free hand to launch a far away table, knocking away the terrorists who tried to get around their cover. She felt a pang in both of her hearts at seeing the girl so scared.

"I think I know an answer for her question," Valerie interrupted with wide eyes, before they all heard a very loud and pronounced crack. "And it won't be pretty."

One of the terrorists got an idea. He took out a thermal detonator and prepared to lure them out of their hiding. But then, when he was about to throw it, something grabbed his arm and twisted it, snapping several bones in process. The man yelled in pain and dropped already activated grenade. The Emperor appeared out of nowhere, and his murderous look alone was enough to pierce them like a bullet and burn them down to ash. His crimson glowing eyes stared into their soul, and his white hair were now a raging inferno. Phantom caught the grenade and clenched his fist, absorbing the entire explosion.

The mercenaries didn't have any time to react, before being thrown into the air. But luckily for them, his list of torture was short enough. One move of his gloved fist, their spines were fractured in multiple places, and their necks were snapped in unnatural angles. All but one now lied dead on the ground. Their leader was still there, attempting to run. Phantom swiped his hand and he was pulled on the ground, right under the Emperor's white boot.

"Name me one reason not to throw you into the nearest Black Hole," he whispered, as an animalistic growl escaped his throat.

"Uhm, I can give you information!"

"Wrong answer, I already have two informers," Danny said, before grabbing the man's collar and dissappearing with him.

When he reappeared, Phantom dusted his clothes from space dust. People stared in fear at the man, and were happy that they weren't the ones on receiving end of his terrific power.

"Daddy!"

The second he heard his little girl's voice, Danny's look turned back to normal this same second as he looked at Dani. The girl hugged his leg tightly, and Phantom kneeled and hugged her in response, tighter than ever before. To imagine what could happen, it terrified Danny to even think about that. Dani was crying and sobbing into his shoulder, leaving strands on his black clothing.

"Shh, sweetheart, Daddy is here, everything is alright," Danny said soothingly, purposely turning her away from dead bodies. "Show is over, everyone. Out!"

In other circumstances, the guests would have been insulted, but in this situation, they could understand. Poor father was all on nerves at the moment. Besides, they were only happy to get home, drink alcohol or/and eat antidepressants in industrial amounts. The room emptied itself in no time, leaving only Phantoms and close friends. Danny looked at Valerie and Komand.

"Where were you?" Komand asked.

"Nimot was indeed a loyalist. He lured me into the sharpshooter's line of sight. I had to beat him too, but it took longer than I anticipated. You better return home, Val, your Dad would flip otherwise."

"You are right. See you later."

As Valerie left the room, Danny attempted to get up, but Danielle held him in a strong grip, fearing to let go and still quietly sobbing. Older Phantom sighed sadly and scooped the girl in his arms. He gave Dani a kiss on the forehead and turned to leave, with Komand following behind. The woman felt an enormous amount of anger and hatred, covered by a sad expression of his face. And the silence between them was only interrupted by steady sounds of boots hitting the floor, echoing through massive, but empty corridors. This silence was becoming more and more unbearable.

"What's on your mind?" Komand asked.

"Isn't that obvious?" Phantom said grimly and raised his eyebrow as he looked at the apprentice.

"What you want, yes. What are you planning, on the other hand, is not."

"Most media are under my control. By next noon the entire Empire will know who they are secretly agitated to sympathize. I'll make sure that this attack will backfire extremely painfully for them. I don't care about Krell efficiency anymore, so we will just put a loyal directorate. If they will be efficient, that will be even better."

They walked to Danielle's room. It was big, twenty meters across, while Danny's was just behind the corridor's corner. Half of the room remained empty, since the girl hadn't yet formed her interests in her short life. It was painted in light blue colors, had a big window, currently hidden behind a curtain. There was a huge bed, which could fit an entire legion, and, as Dani had previously proven, was quite jumpy. The girl was quiet all the way, and just as quiet when her father was putting black pajamas with white stars on her. Phantom switched off the lights, and only a lava lamp was lighting the bed.

Danny put the girl on her bed, but when he turned away, he found that Dani was still holding his hand.

"Can you sleep with me, Daddy?" She asked. "I'm scared."

This request just physically couldn't be denied. "Alright," Danny sighed.

The girl was forgetting that her father didn't need sleep at all, but he still lied down next to her without taking off his clothes. Dani smiled thankfully and snuggled closer. Komand, who was all the while observing parental interaction, smiled slightly, too. Dani suddenly looked up from her father's chest.

"Hey, Komy, can you sleep here, too," She said innocently, causing Danny and Komand to blush.

"Uhm, I'm not sure..."

"Pleaaase," Dani pleaded.

Curse this adorableness. The woman lied down a bed, too, with Dani lying between two adults. The girl seemed very content now, and fell asleep witha cute smile on her face. Danny and Komand avoided eye contact with each other. However, what they couldn't deny is that it felt...nice. After a few minutes Phantom noticed that the others fell asleep. The main problem was that the only way for him to fall asleep as well was to knock himself out. He physically couldn't sleep.

When he saw that Dani was sleeping, he decided to use one peculiar ability. Such events could prove to be traumatic to her, and as a father, he couldn't allow it. If only he managed to erase that memory from her mind...he needed to be careful with that. Danny and cloosed his eyes and put a hand on her forehead. Concentrating, he managed to erase it, or so he supposed. He would have to wait till the morning to find out if it had really worked.

Phantom phased out of his daughter's grip, before soundlesly walking out of the room and getting to his cabinet. He didn't bother turning on the lights, bright white moon shone through the window, simply flopping on a chair. Phantom made a call through holocommunicator, and the room was covered in blue light.

"Your Highness!" The officer stood still and bowed.

"Where is the admiral?" Phantom asked.

"Sir, it's about midnight, her post shift is over. I can call for her, if you wish..."

"No, no, just pass my orders. Prepare Hyperion for departure at noon. I also need enough Gage-class ships to fit inside the First Legion. Inform the general about this, and tell him to prepare his troops for departure."

"Do you need more warships?"

"That's enough for our task. Ah, also I need the biggest construction ships to follow us. Complete your orders."

The officer bowed, before ending the call. Phantom leaned back in his chair. There was much work to be done.

By the morning, just as he planned, all media started massive campaign of mixing the loyalists with dirt. And those people were damn good at it. Besides, it wasn't much of an effort, no matter how noble they claim their intentions were, they still attacked a three years old girl, which was disgusting by itself. Phantom went through to...ask...his captives about their movements. Nimot died quickly, not everyone could stand several hundred bolts of electricity, Danny was the one who knew it too well.

The mercenary didn't crack that easily. Danny suspected he wasn't just payed to resist so strongly, there should have been some motivation. Sadly, Phantom didn't have much time for the job, his departure was coming soon, and he had to purchase some things, incognito, of course. Danny entered his daughter's bedroom when the sunlight was already peaking from behind closed curtains. Phantom sat on a chair near the bed, smiling at what he was seeing.

Dani was now cuddling near Komand, snuggled deeper in her chest. They looked so adorable together. Danny was disappointed that he had to break that peaceful scene.

"Hey, girls, time to wake up," He called playfully.

Komand groaned quietly, rubbing her eyes with a hand not under the still sleeping girl. "What time is it?" She asked.

"About ten am," Danny shrugged, getting up and walking to his daughter. "Good morning, Little Phantom, wake up," he gently whispered.

Dani hummed and shifted on her place. "Won't," she mumbled.

"You won't wake up?" Danny asked in amusement, as Komand chuckled.

The girl shook her head in negative, without opening her eyes. Danny sighed dramatically.

"I guess I'll have to keep a surprise to myself..."

Dani's eyes snapped open. "What is it?" She asked excitedly, getting into sitting position.

Phantom chuckled and gave the girl a morning hug. "Well, after...yesterday...I've decided we need a little rest. And I know just the planet for that. Nice beach and sea. Once you will be ready, we will go just there."

Dani got stars in her eyes, before she ran off to the bathroom for a morning ritual, pulling Danny after her. Komand meanwhile stared at him with dumbfounded expression. Phantom brushed the little girl's teeth and washed her face. When they returned to the room, Komand was still sitting there. Danny said Dani to pick the clothes she wanted, before sitting on a bed near his friend.

"Explain," Komand said.

"Explain what?" Phantom smirked teasingly. "That I want to spend some time with my daughter?"

"Right after she was almost..." She started angrily, but Phantom put a hand over her mouth.

"Don't remind her about that, and she will be fine. I have erased her memory about the assault," Danny whispered.

"Still, you said you are planning to destroy the loyalists."

Danny's smirk grew into a full blown grin. "Who said that one thing outweighs another? It's just a part of my plan, and Lehon just happened to be a gaia world. Why not enjoy it while we can?"

Komand sighed. "You are unbelievable."

"Sure am. Are you not coming?"

"I am, I'll go pack some things."

"Oh, so you DO want to rest on a seacoast," Danny smiled innocently, before a pillow flew into his face.

A few hours later Phantom made a portal for everyone to get on Hyperion. They settled into their rooms and Danny, leaving the girl in care of Komand, left to the bridge. There he was greeted by the crew and a cup of smoking Terran coffee. Oh, and HK.

"Query: Who are we going to kill today, Master?"

"And that's what I get instead of greeting," Danny deadpanned, making a sip of hot drink. "You are about to experience nostalgia, my dear friend. Have the coordinattes been set?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Then let's not waste time. Order the ships to commence a jump to Rakata Prime."

HK's processor got an unexpected error. The droid approached his Master slowly.

"Confusion: Have I heard you correctly?"

"Yep."

"Query: And for what purpose?"

"To rebuild what you have destroyed four thousand years ago. Just imagine what will happen when we get the Star Forge in our disposal. To transform energy into the matter...we will become invincible."

"Nostalgic satement: I can tell. A lot of useless meatbags died that day. Query: But how are you planning to rebuild this piece of unknown technology?"

"Simple. Every construction has own blueprints. They must be somewhere on this planet. Why do you think I have brought you with me? You are the only here who has visited this planet before. Any ideas where to search?"

The droid looked on a distance, staring into blue abyss of hyperspace. "Uncertain statement: I cannot say for sure, we were occupied with another things. Trying to get off that cursed planet, for instance. Suggestion: There is one more or less cooperative tribe. We can beat out the answers from them."

Danny sighed. "That's what I hear from half protocol droid. Diplomacy isn't your thing. We will ASK them to share information."

"Advice: Don't let your ships get too close, their powerful tractor beams will crash your ships on the ground."

Phantom nodded. "We weren't planning on immediate approach to the planet. First we have to check the Star Forge itself. You are dismissed, we have a twelve hours way ahead of us."

The travel went peacefully. Danny was interrupted multiple times from playing with his baby girl. That was to be expected when he had departed without warning a little more than no one. It had own purpose. Phantom wanted the loyalists to think he backed down, while media were showing a video message he had left. Also, he had to respond to multiple complaints of traumatized officials. He payed for their healing and wounds from his treasury.

Yes, the Emperor's authority was undermined by that attack, especially on Terra. After all, he called himself an 'undisputed ruler'. Now it seemed like an active political struggle, and like rats they wanted to get off the sinking ship, in their opinion. Danny ordered to organize a few operations, like taking volunteers for free colonization, hereby fighting poverty, overpopulation and famines not only by lending humanitarian aid.

Phantom could use two paths, or both. It was either control over the powerful superweapon, or the most merciless crackdown in the Empire's history. The last thing won't meet any massive resistance, but Danny still would execute only those, whose involvement was unquestionable. That, along with many other things, took a lot of time. Dani was sad that her father was busy, but didn't say anything about it.

Older Phantom wondered where such humility came from. It had to come from Vlad's meddling, because Danny never was so obedient, even in young age. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, on the contrary, but the girl needed to gain self confidence, not just live in her father's shadow. Well, at least it meant that her teenage years should be easy.

And when the small fleet was about to exit the subdimension, Danny was on the bridge, sitting in his chair. Komand was standing by his side, and Dani was having a daily nap on his lap, leaning on Phantom's chest. Everyone kept glancing on the adorable scene and couldn't supress multiple smiles.

Soon Hyperion slowed down, and the room was filled incredibly bright sunlight. Why, because they were as close to the local star as possible.

"Run a deep scan of surroundings and try to find any savageable parts."

Despite the tiniest chance of finding anything, the crew completed his command. To everyone's, except Danny's, surprise, there were indeed pieces of debris floating around the sun. Small parts, big ones, and by simply summing their size, it was already at the very least twenty six miles in size. Phantom hummed, there weren't enough ships to contain all of them.

"Order construction teams to move all the parts they can find away from the star, and pile the ones which can fit inside their hangers. We will examine them later."

A few seconds afterwards, his order was passed. Then Danny ordered to run a scan of the entire system.

"Your Highness, we have found a planet of terrestrial class. It is fourth away from the star."

"Wonderful. Construction teams must remain here, others jump to that planet, bu stay on a big distance from it."

Astromechs started making calculations, and a few seconds later the results were inserted into navigation computer. The flight took no more than twenty minutes. When the fleet exited hyperspace, there was one small blue dot far on a distance. HK decided to insert his two cents.

"Statement: Taking a smaller ship is a suicide."

"What do you offer, then?"

"Explanation: We can run another scan to find the source of tractor beam. Then you can teleport right to the point and turn it off. And the locals' settlement is not far away."

Danny put a hand on his chin. "You heard him, men," he called.

One scan later, a massive source of energy was spotted on the lightened side of the planet. Phantom looked at the sleeping girl in his hands, before making a duplicate and handing the girl to him.

"Komand, HK, follow me," original Danny said, getting up from his seat.

They stepped through the green portal he had created. Even though Danny couldn't pinpoint the exact location, it was still very close. At first both him and Komand were captivated by sight from their small hill. The landscape looked like a battlefield, filled with hundreds of craters. But instead of lifeless wasteland there was a lush green valley. Whatever battle had previously transpired there, it was long ago. On a distance was a seacoast, and what a coast it was. Pearly white sands, pure blue sea which will make Maldives jealous. If not for half sunken spaceships on a distance, it would have been perfect.

HK let out a metallic cough. "Impatient statement: Are you done watching?" He asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Komand said.

"Party pooper," Phantom grumbled. "Lead the way."

HK was not a useless meatbag, and his processor couldn't get old. Even if it was a few thousand years ago, he remembered the path perfectly. He wondered where rancors were, though. Then they heard a loud stomping as the ground beneath them started to rumble. Oh, that's where.

They turned around and faced the beast. It was twice their size, five meters tall, walking on two strong, but stubby legs. The beast had rough brown skin and hunched back. Its long hands reached its knees, and each of four fingers ended with razor sharp claws. Two black pupiless eyes stared beadily at them, as multiple snorts escaped from the holes on its flat noseless face. Usually rancors attacked on sight, but this one seemed confused at first.

"What is that thing?!" Komand whispered.

"Rancor," Danny explained. "What is he doing away from Dathomir is another question."

"Answer: Crash landing," HK added.

Rancor kept sniffing them from his place twenty meters away. HK was obviously not his interest, durasteel was not a sort of meat. Same went for Phantom, the young man was made purely of something which smelled grossly to it. Komand, on the other hand, smelled just like it preferred. Danny in turn didn't like how the beast looked at her. Before he could do anything, HK took initiative and fired from his rifle. Blaster bolt bounced off the beast, making it growl thunderously.

"Embarrassment: I've completely forgotten about that."

Rancor roared and stood on all fours, before running towards them on high speed. Phantom pushed away his companions, becoming intangible in the process. Rancor's clawed palm went through him. Komand jumped on her feet and turned on the lightsaber, while HK did the same and attempted to aim into unprotected parts. Phantom turned around and threw an ectoblast into its face. It hit the beast and it howled in pain. Protection or not, eyes couldn't have any armor.

Suddenly the rancor howled loudly, and the ground shook again, but much, much louder. Soon, a bigger rancor appeared from behind the hill, and that one was ten meters tall. The predator roared, and it sounded really angry.

"Looks like we have pissed off its mommy," Komand deadpanned.

"I heard rancors are very smart. Maybe if we just walk away..."

"Statement: You've already attacked her kid."

"Damn."

Now the family of predators attacked the group. Phantom immediately jumped high in the air, right on the mother's back, getting her undivided attention. She was trying to shake him, but Phantom remained intangible whenever her hand was about to hit him.

Komand rolled away from the kid, and HK, having a plan in his processor, wasn't in hurry. Playing into his hands, young rancor grabbed the droid and roared.

"Exclamation: Here is your breakfast, brat!" He exclaimed, throwing something right into the beast's mouth.

Rancor didn't even gulp, the object just fell down its throat. When it was about to smash HK at the ground, something rumbled inside its stomach. As a smoke came out of the beast's mouth, it moaned and fell on the ground, unclenching his hand. Komand, who was about to slash it, stared at the scene in front of her in confusion.

"What just happened?" She asked.

HK broke the dead beast's claw and got out of its grip. "Explanation: My old Master created this method to kill off these creatures. Their insides are not protected from grenades. Oh, I'm thrilled to imagine how its insides turned into morning porridge."

They heard another roar, remembering about Danny. Remaining rancor became even more ferocious. Phantom was still holding a spike on the beast's back. Seeing that the others were done, Phantom created an ice blade, harder than strongest metals of the galaxy and, with all his strength, he pierced the rancor's skull. Blood and brain liquid poured like a fountain, grossing the ghost out. The rancor fell on the ground. Danny jumped from the corpse and phased off the nasty liquids.

"Statement: That works, too."

"HALT!"

Suddenly the group found themselves surrounded by a group of seven aliens. They had orange-yellowish skin, similar to that of a frog. Somewhere slim, somewhere rough. Their distinguishable trait were tall heads, twice taller than human ones. Their eyes were round, positioned on two short stalks on the left and right side of their heads. They were dressed in brown robes, which looked very primitive. Danny's eyes widened in shock. It couldn't be...

"I thought they are extinct," he whispered. Danny saw Komand reaching for the lightsaber, but stopped her with a look.

One of the aliens stepped forward. In his hands he was holding a seemingly usual spear.

"Outlanders, we agreed, you don't trespass our territory, we leave you alone," he said, hardly speaking Basic. And he didn't sound pleased.

Phantom decided to speak. "My apologies, I believe you have mistaken us for someone else. We came here with peaceful intentions, and our comrades are waiting for us on the orbit."

"You want turn off tractor beam," Rakata narrowed his eyes.

"Hear me out, please," Danny said, putting a hand on his chest. "Just let me speak with your leader."

The alien noticed two downed rancors. "Your prey is our. Then we go."

Komand choked down her laugh. That guy sounded so ridiculous.

"Of course," Danny said with a smile. "Take them."

Rakata started cutting pieces of meat from predators. Once they packed as much meat into bags, the aliens started going in direction of their settlement.

"So those are the natives you talked about?" Phantom asked the droid, receiving a nod.

"Affirmative: This meatbags have gone through regression. But they will tell you more, I believe."

"Why did they regress?" Komand asked curiously.

"When the Infinite Empire crumbled, Rakata started fighting with each other for power. I think now I know where those craters came from. Albert Einstein once said, 'I don't know what weapons will be used in the Third World War, but the Fourth would be waged with sticks and rocks.' A massive conflict is enough for them to return to tribal life. But I thought they have killed each other."

They walked silently after that. The group soon saw a settlement, which was one stone building. The front entrance was surrounded by a laser barrier. Hm, it wasn't a complete regression, after all. The Rakata made a call through the intercom, and received an order. He approached the group as the doors started sliding open.

"Elders agreed on your proposal. You follow."

Danny nodded and their guide went inside. The group followed through the corridors, catching eyes of multiple aliens. Understandable reaction. They were led inside an oval room, in its far end three Rakata were sitting on soft pillows. They weren't distinguishable from the others. The Elder in the center decided to speak.

"What brings you here, Outlanders?" He asked in clear Basic.

Phantom bowed slightly in respect. "Pardon our intrusion. We came here to..."

Another Elder raised his hand. "Muchitch told us why. We are asking why you need it?"

Danny decided to be truthful in this matter. "Our ships will crash down otherwise."

"What ships?" The Elders seemed to be on guard.

"We come in peace," Phantom said, bursting into laughter on the inside. He loved saying this. "We are just searching for ancient relic of your people. We were not aware that your race still lives."

"So if we weren't, you would have just defiled our ancestors' graves?" One of the Elders asked angrily.

"Lanok, you are forgetting WHO our ancestors were," the central Elder scolded his colleague. "Please, continue, Outlander. What exactly do you seek?"

After a moment, Danny answered. "The blueprints of the Star Forge."

The central Elder was the only one keeping a stoic expression. He silenced his angry colleagues by raising his hand. Seeing that they shut their mouths immediately, Danny guessed that he had a big authority.

"We have done this mistake before. We have told Lord Revan and Lord Malak how to use still operational station. They killed billions because we had believed them, even if Revan redeemed himself in the end. I see that you are accompanied by the droid who followed Revan generations ago. Is that just the same model or is it indeed him?"

"Affirmative: Yes, I was here back then."

The Elder nodded. "What affliction do you have to Revan, child?"

"Revan's spirit talked to me, and asked HK to follow me on my future travels. I'm simply a follower of his ways."

"If you follow his ways, why are you asking to teach you how to build a superweapon?"

"I'm an idealist. I wish eternal peace, but the others don't share my point of view. They seek to destroy the Empire I've worked so hard to create. You of all people should know how dangerous this region is. I've brought freedom and peace through the power of my army. But to do the same with the country ruling half of the Galaxy, we need an equal amount of industrial might."

The Elder's face remained neutral. "The Star Forge was everything we have sworn to abandon. It was not just a factory, and not a tool. It had own sentience, an evil and twisted one at that, just like its masters'. It stopped working when our connection to the Force was cut off, because the station was fueled by the Dark Side. It corrupted people who visited it, and turned its workers into mindless drones. Do you wish the same to happen again?"

"Of course not, but knowing how exactly it worked, we will be able to research different ways of powering it. It can be either powered from both sides of the Force, or a peculiar element, which gains interesting properties in contact with it."

"Brothers, what are your decision on that matter?" The central Elder asked on their own language, unaware that Phantom understood them perfectly.

"We shall give them nothing, the Outlanders only bring cruelty and conflicts. Their wars will come to us eventually."

The main Elder nodded and turned to the last one. He rubbed his slim chin.

"Not necessarily, brother. If they wanted war with us, they would have just attacked and took the blueprints. So, we can dictate our terms."

"I can see your point," the main Elder said, "And I have an idea."

The Rakata looked at the group. "We, although reluctantly, agree on your request, but we have conditions of our own."

"Understandable, name them."

"First, we will give you the schematics, but the Star Forge must not enter this system. Second, you may examine this same blueprints, but do not build it until finding an acceptable power source. And the last thing, we want our planet to remain isolated and untouched. Untouched by any outlanders. Take them away from this world, I'm sure they won't be against it."

Danny tapped on the ground. He had spent a lot of time creating ectogenerators, along with IRB, and the progress was considerable. Still, it slowed down the process. But what choice did he have?

"May we at least build outer carcass? If we won't succeed, it shall be our problem, right?"

"How do we know you are not going to pull time until you build the entire station?"

"You may observe the construction," Danny said, as a deceiving plot grew in his mind.

The carcass was going to be built, but it shall remain as it is, while he commences a full blown construction in different system. He just couldn't waste any time.

The Rakata looked at each other, before discussing the matter. After a short while, the main Elder looked at Danny.

"We agree," he nodded, making the ghost beam at them.

"Great!" Danny stepped forward, but several spears were pointed at his throat. "Alright, handshake is not common around here," he raised his hands in surrender. HK and Komand snickered from their places.

"No, it is not. But we will be happy to invite you for a feast in honor of successful hunting season."

Phantom chuckled. "Well, traditions must be honored."

While the feast was being set up, Danny was shown to the secret room with an ancient computer. All data was kept there, but he wasn't allowed to copy it, they have given him a special device, a holocron, to which they had transmitted the information. They have warned him against trying to copy the blueprints. Meanwhile HK and Komand entered the Temple of the Ancients, where the tractor beam could be turned off.

Despite the Temple's half destroyed condition, HK still recognized the path he had walked all those years ago. Several times Komand had to clean up the road from debris using the Force. The droid seemed to move comparably tiny stones on purpose. They soon were on the balcony, surrounded by multiple columns. So much space for a small computer. When Komand approached it, she cursed slightly. This language was unknown to her. She heard a metallic chuckle behind her.

"Statement: I have knowledge of several of the offered languages."

"Just get to it, tin can."

HK decided to give payback later and approached the computer, tapping on several keys.

"How do you have this knowledge? I doubt it was downloaded into you."

"Cocky statement: In case you haven't noticed the language has changed."

Komand looked at the monitor, and the writings took different form.

"Explanation: I may not know why they would need to put such a function on computer with this purpose. It is translated to the Selkath' language, they were once Rakata slaves, and, unlike many, still exist. I know how to speak it. Here, done, we can return to the Master."

Komand nodded and turned to the exit. As they walked back to the settlement, the woman had informed the fleet about turned off tractor beam. It allowed them to come to the orbit. When they returned it was already a sunset. There were already noises coming from inside the settlement. When the group got inside, they were greeted by an unusual sight.

In a mess hall the aliens had gathered around the table, where they cheered for their champion. The Emperor was wrestling with a very buffed Rakata. The alien belonged to a different subspecie of the race, which granted him much bigger than average, by Rakatan standards, strength. He was more bulky than the others, and his head was horizontally positioned. Phantom didn't even pretend to have difficulties with his opponent. He yawned loudly.

"Oh, hey guys," Danny called once he saw them. "I've introduced them to arm wrestling."

He received no reaction. "Cheer for me, will you?!" Phantom shouted over the noise.

Komand clapped her hands slowly. "Go Danny," she said and Danny's face gained a non amused expression.

"Cheers: Smash this useless pile of meat, Master!"

"Thanks a lot," he said, looking at Komand and making the woman smirk.

"You are welcome."

Phantom decided that it's best for him to pretend to lose, just so his new friends won't be sore after a defeat. So, pretending to start having hard effort, he slowly let the opponent defeat him. As Danny's gloved hand touched the table, the Rakata roared in victorious cheers. Phantom put a hand on his chest dramatically and tilted his head towards the orange skinned woman.

"That's because I didn't get enough rooting," he whispered.

"Question: How could you?" HK looked at Komand as well.

"Oh, you'll get over it, crybabies," Komand rolled her eyes but chuckled.

The following evening went unusual. While HK got in a few brawls and broke a few bones, Danny and Komand watched an interesting showcase of the locals' culture. They were the only outlanders to ever witness their ceremonial dances and music. Questionable entertainment, considering that it included splashing drinks into the guests' faces during the last dance. Danny had a suspicion that that thing won't be washed away easily.

After that, because of different circumstances, the two got separated. When Komand noticed that, she started searching for her friend. After a good while of searching, she found him outside. Danny was standing on an edge of the hill, staring at the night ocean, surprisingly clear of debris.

"What are you doing here?" Komand asked, coming closer to him.

"I needed a break from all that noise," Danny answered, without looking to the side, but putting hands behind his back. The last thing was becoming a habit.

A silence settled between them, before he spoke again.

"I haven't thanked you."

"For what?" She asked in confusion.

Danny turned his neon gaze at her. Komand had admitted long ago how captivating those eyes were, and now they shone with warmth. "For keeping my daughter safe."

"There was also Valerie," Komand said humbly.

"But she is not here, right?"

This topic reminded the woman about Valerie's words from the day before. And it hit her, they were alone, and nobody was there to interrupt.

Danny sighed. "Komy, may we talk about something?"

"Uhm, yes."

"Tell me honestly, do you have any...feelings towards me? Like, more than just friendly."

Komand's hearts panged. It was either now or never. "Yes, I like you. A lot," was everything she managed to say.

"That's what I feared," Danny muttered.

"Why?" Komand whispered as her heart sank.

"Komand, you seek an affection of walking corpse. It's just...wrong. But if only that. I'm immortal, no matter who you point at, I'll outlive everyone, my afterlife is eternal!" He exclaimed, letting out his frustration. "I can't let myself to form any affections. Losing someone I care about yet again, I might lose it."

"So, you don't care about me," Komand muttered and looked away.

"Th-that's not what I meant!"

"Then what?!" She exclaimed. "You yourself said so! Like if you don't worry at all that I die!"

Danny grabbed her shoulders, preventing her from leaving. "I do care for you, Komy, I am concerned each time you have to fight. I'm afraid to lose you, because I DO have feelings for you. And it doesn't help to ease my worries."

"Then what's the point? Do you want to suffer by keeping everything inside and then suffer even more, regretting what you haven't done when you could?" Komand put a hand on his cheek. "I don't care what you are, and no one has to know about that. Why not enjoy it while we still can?"

Danny seemed uneasy. Of course he was, a confidence in his decision evaporated quickly. It had taken him a lot of time to gain this same confidence, and now it was nothing but a gust of air. It took only a few seconds. Phantom sighed, looking into her purple orbs, which looked back at him, shining with a hopeful expression. Danny slowly moved a hand on the back of her head, gently getting under her hair. He smiled slightly down at her.

"Well, for once I can allow myself a drastic decision," he said.

Before Komand could process what he had said, Danny lowered his head and crushed his lips on hers. Her eyes widened in surprise, and her hearts started beating faster. It felt like fireworks went off in her mouth, and even though she couldn't deny it felt heavenly, she pulled away slightly and panted for breath.

"What was that?" She asked.

Danny smiled. "A kiss."

"So that's how humans do that," Komand mumbled, before smiling brightly and wrapping her arms around his neck. "I'm not against it."

They kissed again, hugging each other closely, pulling away only when Komand was out of air again. Suddenly Danny chuckled.

"I've just remembered," he mumbled, taking a step back and outstretching his hand. "I still owe you a dance, duchess."

Komand gave a small, but happy smile and took his hand.


	27. Chapter XXVII: Encounter on Ilum

The Emperor's short vacation went just wonderfully. His attitude had earned him the sympathy of the Rakata, so they let him enjoy local paradise beaches. His attention was not on them, however. Yes, the sight of his new girlfriend in swimming underwear was most captivating. He had to look after Dani at the same time, and it tore him to do two things at the same time. Thankfully, Komand seemed not to let go of him for long. Danny recalled reading something about yuths' powerful hormones and opened attitude towards their lovers. After keeping so much inside, all of that just poured out like water from the dam. She even seemed fine with cuddling at night. Phantom was fine with it, each time patiently waiting till she fell asleep.

However, the fact that Komand was maybe too close and was wearing nothing but bra and panties didn't help to keep watch out for hormones of his own.

Once his girlfriend fell asleep, Danny usually checked on his another girl. After doing so, Phantom returned to his duties as the ruler and part time inventor. He held the conferences with IRB scientists assigned to creation of the power source for the Star Forge via holocom. Speaking of which, the construction had begun, and half of the Imperial War Ministry's budget. And that was hard to hide, and if the information slipped, it could cause consequences. The project named 'Star Dust' was labeled 'Top Secret', while the spendings were hidden from the public.

The scavenged enormous pieces allowed to shorten construction time and resources. The Star Forge will be constructed in five years, or at least will be able to work. The Emperor had picked a secluded system with a habitable planet and a massive enough star. After all, the Forge needed to be feeden from something.

As the Rakata honored their part of the deal, Phantom went along with his. He solved the problem with crashlanders. Mandalorians were the most cruel of all, turning more and more into usual bandits without their famous sense of honor. Elimination was the only way, the First Legion got rid of them under Phantom's command. Because they didn't care who to rob, even the Imperials and the Republicans sorted their differences to defend against them and succeeded, saving their small unvolunteery colony. As the time went, the colony grew to a village and later a small town.

However, even though the former smugglers didn't care much about the politics and assimilated later, Republicans and Imperials constantly bickered over the issues even centuries later. Each sticked to their own ways, there were two coruling leaders, one was elected by Republican faction, another was appointed by the Imperials' higher circles - descendants of former military leaders. Allying with the last ones, who pledged their allegiance immediately, the Emperor convinced the rest to leave the planet. He had to promise to find them a new home.

Skulker meanwhile interrogated the former director and the mercenary. Even though he somehow managed to crack the two, there weren't many leads. They were contacted either through communicator, or in cantinas. The first thing got his interest, so the hunter barged into the director's home as the Death Troopers, who Phantom trusted immensely, searched his office and other places. There Skulker found a holocommunicator. Nimot had erased the calls history, otherwise they could be replayed and tracked down. When the hunter contacted Danny through the secured frequency, Phantom gave him an advise to check Holonet station.

Skulker followed the advice, and he actually got something. Dates and places. The collected data showed when and from where Nimot had received calls. Since the attack was on the princess, it couldn't be made earlier than she was revealed to the world. Besides the calls made from Krell itself, there were five planets, two of which were largely inhabited. One was a space station in the asteroid field - it could be just an agreement of supplying the factories. However, there were several calls from a remote planet in the Outer Rim. It was not the Imperial territory. Perfect hiding place.

It should have been a massive show of power, and Phantom needed one small detail, which, quite conveniently, added up with his another course of action. Danny leaned back in his chair on Hyperion and sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Tired?" Komand asked, coming from behind.

"Bored," Phantom chuckled. "You all are just sleeping through half of your lives. It gets lonely."

The ghost received a kiss on his cheek. She obviously liked doing this alien way of kissing. "Well, not now."

"And the reason for you being up at three am is..."

Komand shrugged. "I couldn't sleep for some reason."

Danny grinned teasingly. "Aww, you couldn't sleep without me...ouch!" He rubbed his sore cheek she had kissed a moment ago. "Alright, I deserved that."

"Yes, you did."

"Am I ever going to have the slightest empathy?" Phantom whined, before they both laughed quietly.

Komand then noticed that Danny's look grew distant again. "Hey, what are you thinking about?" She asked, sitting on his lap.

"Funnily, about us."

"What about it?" She asked in concern.

Danny stroked her cheek with his thumb. "Don't worry, I didn't mean that. You have been my apprentice for a pretty long time, and yet we have some dead Sith Lord's lightsaber for two. I believe it's time to change it, don't you think? It is a very important step in both the Sith and the Jedi trainings."

Komand smiled. "Sure thing. I don't have any work, anyway."

"Well, if you want, I can assign you some," Danny smirked and chuckled at her expression. "Alright, you better take the warmest clothes you can get. Ilum is quite cold."

"Oh, joy," she grumbled. She hated ice planets.

After half an hour Phantom had done everything he needed and was waiting for his girlfriend. Soon Komand joined him, carrying a black fur coat, which even had warming systems inside, along with fireproof cover. She looked at him with a deadpan expression.

"You have thought this through, haven't you?"

Danny smirked and pecked the woman on her lips. "Everything for your comfort, dear."

Komand smiled gratefully, but before she could say anything, they heard a familiar soothing metallic voice.

"Sarcasm: Just great, like if I haven't seen enough mating since being made," HK put in.

"Please tell me he is not coming with us," Komand begged.

"Statement: I certainly hope so. Unless you are coming to slaughter someone. That I can do."

"No, HK, that's not the case," Danny responded. "I need you to...I can't believe I'm saying this...watch after Dani in my absence."

Both his companions stared at him. "Begging: Please don't."

"Danny, I'm not sure if it is a good idea..."

"I don't have any enthusiasm about it as well. HK, if a single hair falls off her head, you will be grounded, understood?"

"Defeated statement: Understood," the droid lowered his head in sadness.

Danny nodded and turned to the Fury-class interceptor. Komand followed him and raised her eyebrow. "Why can't you just teleport us there?"

Phantom smirked at her. "Because it's a part of the trial. I'll tell you more aboard."

They got to the ship's cockpit and flew out of the hanger. From their place, the Force users could see the future Imperial war factory, along with dozens of construction and war ships. Komand looked at Danny, who was leaning back in a copilot seat.

"So, what do you want to do?"

"Ilum is not far away, but it cannot be found, unless you are the Force sensitive. Reach for your senses, and it will guide you towards the planet."

Komand nodded and closed her eyes. Danny smiled from his place, crossing his legs and waiting. If she mistook directions, he could fix them. However, it proved to be unneeded. When Komand opened her eyes, she set the coordinates manually, with surprising precision. She looked at Phantom expectantly and saw that he was beaming at her.

"Well done, we can jump now."

She pulled the lever and the ship entered the hyperspace. Then Komand yawned and put a hand over her mouth. Danny got up and approached his girlfriend.

"The flight should take a few hours. Go have some sleep until we arrive," he offered softly.

"Alright," Komand yawned. "But you are coming with me," she added, grabbing his hand.

"I don't have any objections."

The woman fell asleep quickly in his arms, putting her head on Phantom's chest. Even if Danny thought that her close attitude was maybe too rushed, he couldn't deny that it felt really nice. He wasn't going to complain, if anything he was going to act the same way. Multiple hours had passed unnoticeably, and Danny looked on the clocks only when the computer started to beep. He sighed and gently shook Komand. She stirred and rubbed her eyes, before looking up.

"Morning, sleeping beauty," Danny smirked, kissing her on forehead.

Komand smiled sleepily. "Is it time already?"

"I think so. You better put the clothes on."

She pouted. "You don't like what you see?"

Ectoplasm flushed to Danny's cheeks. "No, I-I mean yes...but I..."

Komand laughed and got into sitting position. "Alright," she waved her hand towards the door. "Let me dress up."

Phantom left the living quarters with hunched shoulders. He shook his head with amused expression, before going to the cockpit, through the corridors and the main hall. Phantom flopped on a chair and started waiting, staring in the abyss of hyperspace. Soon Komand entered the room, fixing the collar of her coat.

"Ugh, it's so hot," she complained.

"Hey, isn't it what the coat is supposed to do? Don't worry, just wait until we come out."

Then the ship emerged from the subdimension, on the orbit of Ilum. It had an indigo color, showing that it was entirely covered in snow. However, when they started to descend, their attention quickly turned to the object their sensors had picked. A ship was about to exit the hyperspace.

"Of all times it should be now!" Danny complained.

"What's wrong?" Komand asked.

"The Jedi are here. Turn on the cloaking devices, quickly!"

The apprentice followed his commands and pressed several buttons. The ship became invisible for sensors and unarmed eye. Soon the expected ship appeared seemingly from nowhere. It was mostly gray and red Paladin-class corvette about hundred meters in length, and the unmistakable symbol of the Jedi Order was painted on its side. The corvette flew past them and to the surface. Phantom sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Should have known that," he grumbled.

"Known what?" Komand asked in confusion.

"Daytime on Ilum is very short, while the nights last for pretty long time. And in nighttime no one except me or other resistant beings can survive in such immense cold. We are not the only ones who had decided to seize this opportunity and get the crystals for the lightsabers. Alright, reach for your senses, Komy, let the Force guide you towards yours."

Komand nodded and turned the interceptor in certain direction, but the corvette was too close for comfort, so Komand tried to avoid it as long as possible. It was hard, considering that Fury-class was as big as the Paladin-class. Danny leaned back in his seat.

"You know, I'm actually wondering, where did you learn to pilot the ship?"

Komand shrugged. "Father gifted me a small ship when I turned fourteen. This isn't much harder."

Danny chuckled. "You never cease to surprise me, Duchess," he complimented.

"You are good at that too, snowhead," she smiled.

However, in their flirting they forgot one detail. Danny had his Force potential covered, but Phantom's mere presence could be spotted, and one particular small Jedi Master had sensed a foreign presence not so far away. Yoda hummed in thought and looked out of the illuminator.

"Master Yoda, is something wrong?" Obi-Wan asked.

The much younger Jedi Master, who was in his early thirties, had short auburn hair and a well kept short beard. He was dressed in white robes, covered by a brown cloak, which was tidy and showed that it had been taken care of.

"Something familiar, I sensed."

Obi-Wan raised his eyebrow. Now he sensed something as well. "It feels..strange. Like there is someone, and yet there isn't."

Yoda nodded. "Indeed. A similar feel, the boy we met a year ago was giving."

"I heard about the chase around Coruscant," Obi-Wan rubbed his chin. "Do you think the younglings are in danger?"

"Hmm, unknown his purpose is to us. Protect the younglings, I will, find the boy you must, Obi-Wan."

The interceptor landed on an icy surface of the planet, as the repulsors blew away the snow beneath it. Soon Danny and Komand exitted the ship, right into the snowstorm. Phantom smirked and took a deep breath.

"Ah, what a nice morning breeze," he said.

"Your humor is not helping here," Komand grumbled, hugging herself in order to spread the warmth.

"Well, someone has to be optimistic here," Danny beamed. "So, where are we supposed to go?"

Komand outstretched her hand, covered by a warm glove, and closed her eyes. "There, in that cavern," she said, before going forward.

Then she noticed that Danny wasn't following. She looked at him in confusion, while Phantom only smiled. He made a few steps towards her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"This is something you must do alone, Komy. This is your crystal you are searching for. May the Force be with you, and be careful."

Komand smiled slightly and nodded. "Try to not get into trouble while I'm gone."

"That's unfair, I'm giving you a possible task."

The woman chuckled and turned away, shaking her head. When she disappeared inside the cave, Danny sighed and returned inside the ship. Once there, he returned to his quarters, where he took a small box. He opened it and took a look inside.

He didn't have a lightsaber, so he just made a hilt of the weapon. It was shorter than the usual hilt, since Phantom preferred to use only one hand, his physical strength allowed him to. There was a short metal guard, which sticked out only for 3 cm. The entire hilt was black, with silver engravings all along it. Golden color was just so dull. The key difference from the usual lightsabers was the blade itself. After testing it with kyber crystal from Komand's weapon, he found out that he could make it slim, like usual metal blades. All what he was lacking was his own crystal.

Grabbing the weapon and situating it on his belt, Phantom left the ship. He wasn't worried, who could attempt to steal a ship in a middle of frozen wasteland?

Despite the raging snowstorm, Danny sat in snow and started to meditate. Soon he felt a pull in certain direction. Opening his eyes, Phantom got up, phased off the snow from his butt and flew where the Force told him to go. And that place was positioned on considerable distance from their landing position, about hundred miles or so. It took him a few minutes on high speed to get to the destination point. There were icy mountains everywhere.

The snowstorm was becoming more and more furious. Even if Danny wasn't affected by it at all, he couldn't see a single thing. Danny felt like Frodo Baggins when Saruman created a storm in the mountains. Well, he could change that. Phantom moved his hands, keeping the snowflakes away from him and his line of sight. He kept going forward as the snow crumbled beneath his white boots. He kept moving forward, higher and higher into the mountains.

Danny was growing impatient. He didn't even know what he was searching for. But, he felt that he had to go higher. Sighing, Phantom flew further. Landing on a small edge on the mountain's side, the ghost looked below. So far no results: snow, snow and, oh, miracle, ice. He leaned back, but flinched and jumped in surprise as something sharp almost pierced his head. If not for the flight, he would have fallen down. Danny raised his eyebrow and looked at the place he was before. There was nothing sharp...

"Wait..." Phantom mumbled, scrutinizing his eyes.

He flew closer and noticed faint white lines, which seemingly hung in the air. Danny moved his gloved hand slowly, and he actually felt something. For some reason, he felt that it was the thing he had been searching for. Phantom grabbed that strange rock and phased off its small part. He examined the piece and was stunned. It was like a glass, but the image which could be seen through it remained on the mineral for a few seconds.

"Amazing," the ghost whispered in awe. "I wonder..."

Phantom took a small enough piece and sat on his butt. He took the lightsaber from his belt and it flew in front of him, before starting to disassemble by itself. When it was nothing but a complect of details, the crystal flew on its rightful place in the center. When the lightsaber was finished, Danny took it and pressed a small button.

At first he thought that nothing happened, but then his white aura spread further, showing the outline of the transparent blade. It turned on without making a sound. Danny heard a barely traceable humming sound, and if he could barely hear it, not many could as well. Phantom swung the weapon and it still was almost silent. His image remained on the sword, but then vanished. He sliced the nearest rock and it fell apart, what was supposed to happen with the lightsaber.

"A special crystal for a special weapon," Danny grinned.

Meanwhile Obi-Wan left the corvette and took a speeder to get to his destination point. It wasn't far, so he could as well use it. He had to put on some warm clothes, though. The Jedi Master sensed where that mysterious boy went, so he moved there. After a while the sky had cleared, and the snowy landscape could be seen easily. Suddenly Obi-Wan saw something on a distance and decided to check it out. As he approached the thing, he saw it more clearly. Well, it was only logical for the boy to have a ship to get on the planet.

Obi-Wan jumped off the speeder and stepped closer to the ship. He thought he had seen this model before, but he couldn't recall where. The Jedi Master traced his hand through the ship's hull, but then he saw something which dispersed any doubts in his mind. An Imperial coat of arms painted on one of its parts. Obi-Wan's eyes widened in shock, but before he could do anything else, he heard a voice behind him.

"I can understand fanning over someone's ship, but you are getting a bit obsessed with it."

The Jedi looked behind and saw the person who created this mess. A definition of the 'boy' seemed to fit him only partially, yes he was youthful, but not a kid. He looked human, but there was still that peculiar feeling the white haired man was giving off. Another strange thing was that Phantom wore nothing but light shirt and black trousers without showing any signs of discomfort. Danny crossed his hands and leaned against the chassis.

"Hello there," Obi-Wan greeted.

"Skip the pleasantries, Jedi. I'm not interfering with your own errands, so leave me alone."

"I'm just here to talk, no need to become hostile," the Jedi raised his hands in surrender. "And this symbol doesn't ease suspicions," he pointed at the Imperial hexagon.

Danny sighed. "I knew it was a bad idea to put it. Look, I've simply found a ship of the Sith Empire and renewed it. The symbol is just for entourage. So, are you going to leave or I'll have to give you some hot chocolate?"

"I'll stick to the latter," Obi-Wan said, not fully understanding what was the option he had picked.

Phantom rubbed his temples. He wasn't going to kill the man, he didn't present any threat and killing for fun just wasn't Danny's thing. He could as well be welcoming. Danny pressed a button on his keys and the trap opened.

"Follow me."

The two went inside. Coming through the corridor into the main hall, Phantom led the visitor towards the small kitchen. Strange decision for a ship, but since it also fulfilled the role of moving base of operations, the menu needed something more than standard military ratios. Besides, Danny wanted Komand to feel comfortable. Phantom offered a seat to Obi-Wan, before pressing a few buttons on coffee machine. It could as well brew cacao.

"So, what's that 'hot chocolate'?" The Jedi asked.

"That's what it is. A powder made of sweet beans mixed with heated milk. Nice stuff, but I prefer coffee."

Danny put a cup of smoking drink in front of the Jedi and flopped on a chair nearby. Obi-Wan pretended to make a gulp, and Phantom noticed that, before rolling his eyes.

"I haven't poisoned it, in case you are wondering."

"Sorry, I've recently had an unpleasant experience with poisons," Obi-Wan put a cup on the table.

Danny tapped on a table with his pointing finger. "I'll take it, then," he said, taking a sip of the drink.

The Jedi meanwhile observed the young man's behavior. What could he possibly do to cause such a disturbance in the Force? He decided to approach that topic slowly.

"Why would you need an Imperial ship?"

"Why not? This baby is very reliable, spacey and has a lot of firepower in case I will be attacked by pirates."

"And the officials are fine with you owning a war interceptor?" Obi-Wan asked suspiciously.

"Are we talking about Republican officials?" Danny deadpanned.

"You got a point," the Jedi mumbled. "I didn't catch your name."

"I'm Danny. Danny Phantom. And you are..."

"Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"I'll call you Ben," Danny said and shrugged nonchalantly. "Don't try to resist, everyone around me has either a nick or pet name."

Obi-Wan chuckled. "And what brings you on this planet?" He kept on questioning.

"Kyber crystals, what else? It's not like there is something interesting around. They are highly valuable and I need money for my bread and butter."

"I see. May I ask you something?"

"You already are, Ben."

"We have encountered you on Coruscant one year ago, and back then you've caused a disturbance in the Force. How so?"

Danny leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. "My connection to it was put under certain restrictions. When it was taken off, well, you saw what happened."

"What kind of restrictions?"

"It was shortened to an unnoticeable amount. I wasn't supposed to know about the Force at the moment."

"And how much do you know now?"

"Enough."

Obi-Wan sighed internally. This kid wasn't helpful at all. Danny reminded him Anakin in some ways. He hoped his padawan would outgrow his teen stubborness. There was something peculiar the Jedi had noticed about Phantom. He couldn't get anything from him through the Force. He didn't know if he was lying or not, heck, he didn't know what side of the Force was present more. Phantom was very good in hiding it, but it arose another question: why would he need to do so?

"Maybe you can..."

Phantom snorted. "Join the Jedi? Please, in our time it is more of a burden than a privilege. Besides, do you really think they will just take me in?"

Obi-Wan was surprised by the young man's level of knowledge about the Order. But he was right, if the Council was hesitant to accept ten years old boy, what was there to say about an adult? But it was still dangerous to let a potential Sith Lord to roam freely. Phantom sensed the man's concern, and he guessed what that was about.

"Look, Ben, I'm not a big bad guy. If anything, I'm just a Jedi who understands how this world works. I live my life and I hope you understand."

Obi-Wan barely heard a note of sarcasm in the last sentence. Jokes about life were Danny's favorites, just not many could understand them. Then the Jedi noticed something on the kitchen island.

"And this is your life, I take it?" He asked and Danny followed his gaze.

Phantom got up and picked a device which showed a photo. Danny smiled at it lovingly. It was a photo from the vacation, which Komand had decided to put in her ship. He was holding Dani in his arms, and the girl was hugging his neck with a joyful expression on her face, just like everyone else. Komand was just beside, holding her lover's hand with a head on his shoulder. Duplicate took that picture. He wondered how they were doing.

During the time HK spent with Dani, he grew confident in one thing - she was the purest evil the Galaxy had ever seen.

It all started innocently. The droid would walk into the room, only to have a bucket of some sticky liquid on his head. Or being bombarded with water balloons and getting shortcutted a few times. Where had she even taken them?! Little did he know, it was only the beginning. All of a sudden Dani learned how to shoot weak ectoblasts from her fingers. HK thanked the maker that her blasts were weak. The girl laughed each time the blasts resonated from metal with a funny sound. All of that in six hours of being awake. But even that wasn't what made HK consider her evil.

It was when she started to blackmail him.

One moment he was busy with cleaning up his blaster. Dani had finally settled down and played with her dolls. However, the second HK turned his visor to his weapon, the girl appeared near him. The droid looked at her.

"Question: What do you want?" He asked.

The three years old smiled innocently, her green eyes shining. "Can I borrow your toys?"

HK bristled. "Irritation: They're weapons, not toys!"

Dani scrutinized her eyes and scrunched her little nose, like if she didn't see any difference. "Okaay, HK, can I borrow your wee-ponies?"

"Exclamation: WEAPONS, brat! Not wee-ponies! And no, you can't!"

Ellie pouted and grabbed the droid's hand. "Why NOT?" She whined. "BORED! Wanna play with wee-ponies!"

"Statement: Entertain yourself somewhere else," HK snapped, trying to get out of the girl's grip.

It proved to be a fatal mistake. Before Danny appointed him to look after the girl, HK planned to go through maintainance, he had even loosened a few screws. And that was what eased the effort for the girl. One pull and a part of the droid's hand below the elbow detached from the body and hit the girl in the face.

Cursing multiple times, HK raced to the child. Dani put a hand to the hurting place. There was a red greenish blood on her fingers.

"You hurt me," the girl said in disbelief. However, she didn't sound actually hurt. "Why did you do that?" She asked.

"Explanation: I didn't mean to, it was an accident. Let me see the wound. It's just a scratch, it is already healing. Master won't ever find out..."

Something in the girl's look changed at the last statement as she tilted her head, her snowy locks falling on her shoulder. HK felt almost scared at seeing this calculative look without a single emotion being seen through. The droid couldn't believe that the girl could actually plotting something. Granted, her father was an evil mastermind when he wanted, but she was just...

"You don't want Daddy to know about that?" She asked.

"Affirmative: Uhm, yes," HK took a cloth and wiped the bleeding place with his remaining hand. "Suggestion: Let's keep it between us."

Dani looked at him, then back on the severed arm in her hands, then back at the droid. "Can I have this thingy?"

"Answer: Of course not, it is my hand!"

"You can make another," the girl argued. Then she gave a smile. HK knew this smile too well. It was the same expression Danny wore when he was up to something. "If I can't have it, I'll tell Daddy you hurt me."

HK's right visor started to blink, "Question: Are...are you...BLACKMAILING ME?!" he exclaimed.

Dani blinked innocently.

"Exclamation: You DO! You can't blackmail me, you are three years old!"

The girl only smiled.

Danny looked at Obi-Wan. "I hope she has fun," he mumbled, putting the device on the table. "Look, I know I've caused you guys some trouble. But it is nothing serious, there is no reason for you to follow me. So you either go back willingly or I'll have to kick you out of my ship."

He decided to be diplomatical to the end. Otherwise the Jedi would have followed and, heavens forbid, traced him back to the Empire he tried so hard to keep in secret. After all, his subjects were forbidden to travel out of the Unknown Regions. He was allowed because of governmental issues. Not that there were many known travel routes.

"I can use my legs just fine," Obi-Wan said cheerfully and got up on his feet. "I'm not sure how the Council will react, but I'll leave you. But..."

The Jedi threw a communicator, which Danny caught. The ghost examined it. "Just in case they will need something more. You want to be left alone, right?"

"That I do," Danny mumbled, before snorting. "You are the second one to make this offer."

"Who was the first?"

"Some shady Sith in black robes. I 'accidentally' dropped it under a walker."

"A Sith?"

"For Ancients' sake, please leave. All you need to know is that I hadn't and have not any intention of joining him. If it helps, he has old raspy voice, I didn't see his face," Danny shrugged. "Now, hasta la vista, sayonara and goodbye."

Obi-Wan nodded, nevertheless confused at the strange farewell. It was less informative than he had expected, but at least Phantom was willing to talk. Hopefully they will be able to get more during the next conversation. If he doesn't smash it, that is. Danny wasn't planning to, he needed to show only good intentions. He watched the speeder driving off, before returning inside the ship.

Danny didn't know for how long he had been practicing with his new weapon, and he learned one thing - it was perfect. Yes, the blade shape was different, hence why he had to alter some moves, while some old ones became insufficient. For example, the blaster bolts could be deflected only with broad side of the blade, which was difficult and looked ridiculous. However, it was much faster than the average lightsaber. One issue was rather big - the weapon was almost invisible. If not for his aura, it would have been completely unnoticeable. He needed to train with it more - through sweat, ectoplasm and multiple burns.

Suddenly the voice communicator started to beep. Danny took it and accepted the call.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"Danny, would you kindly to open the doors?" Komand responded.

"Say a magic woord," Danny said in a sing-song voice.

"Now."

"You are a charm itself, dear," Phantom rolled his eyes and went towards the entrance.

He pulled a lever, pressed a button and the trap opened. Komand entered the ship, but to Danny's surprise, she wasn't alone. There was a girl near her, in a warm brown coat. She looked to be about ten years old, with orange skin and blue eyes. However, two white headtails with blue stripes meant that she was a Togruta. Danny sized her up and down, and the girl felt uncomfortable under the man's calculative gaze.

"Hey..." She waved her hand slowly. "I'm Ahsoka..."

Danny looked at Komand.

"Explain."


	28. Chapter XXVIII: Taking a ward

**A.N. Answering the question of the user Going Ghost, the idea seems interesting, but I don't see a way to use them yet. Maybe when the time comes, I dunno.**

When Komand entered the cave, she found out that it could be pretty dark in secluded places. Discovery of the century. The woman ignited the lightsaber, and the crimson light filled the surroundings, reflecting off the ice and snow. She sighed, understanding that it will be a long way.

"Now where should I go?" Komand mumbled to herself.

A funny thought occurred in her mind. Everything is so simple when you can always count on some mysterious force to show you the way. Komand closed her eyes and pointed at the random direction. She opened her eyes and smirked. Alright, here it comes.

After walking about hundred meters through the dark corridors of the cavern, Komand started to shiver already. Her race wasn't made for ice climate. She pressed a small button on her coat and it started to warm up. She sighed in content and continued her way. There was a slight edge before her. Komand slid down the snowy hill and got down, sending gusts of snow in the air. It was when it actually ended, and there were only rocks beneath her feet.

The apprentice continued her journey deep in the icy caverns. It was beginning to get boring, really. She found nothing even closely resembling a crystal after continuously searching for it. Komand had to go deeper and deeper into the cave. She wasn't worried about losing directions in that endless labyrinth, the Force was a very universal guide in every hole its users could get into. However so far it was guiding her in circles. Komand passed the same corner five times, and on the sixth time there was a tick mark on her forehead.

She decided to go through, literally. Komand saw an ice wall, and a 'corridor' behind it. She pierced it with her lightsaber and made a circle, before pushing it out with the Force. The woman went through the newly made hole and continued her way. It wasn't much different, except for the number of stalactites and stalagmites around, which wasn't exactly the most important matter. That was until the apprentice heard a roars on a distance, along with a terrified scream. Komand's eyes widened in shock, before she ran towards the source of the noise.

Komand soon got to the source of that sounds, or more exactly the sources. Asharl panthers, feline predators about two meter in length. Four animals had two toes on each foot tipped with non-retractable claws. They had blue fur which was incredibly dense, yet smooth, across their entire bodies. Their heads were broad an they lacked ears, while their beady eyes were located beneath pronounced brow ridges. Expressive, the asharl's snout was blunt and their hall filled with large exposed teeth. Large, tentacle-like sensory organs grew from their shoulders, one on each side. Thick nerve bundles ran up the fronds from which the panthers could pick up the vibrations that came from behind, preventing any threat from catching the asharl unawares.

More importantly, she saw a girl snuggled fearfully in the corner. Komand narrowed her eyes and turned on the lightsaber.

"Hey, kittens, pick someone of your strength!"

The apprentice took battle stance as the felines turned to her. Typical, they decided to pick the bigger pray. She gripped her weapon tightly, waiting for them to strike. Suddenly one of them lunged at her from behind, as expected. Komand spun around and stabbed the animal in its head. She then pushed away the other beasts who tried to jump on her. They hit the icy walls of the cavern and fell on the floor. They got on their clawed feet quickly, before attacking again. Komand rolled her eyes and charged a lighting in her free hand, before frying one of them to death.

She jumped to the side and chopped another feline's head off in the process. Then she missed a hit of the last predator, luckily its claws left the apprentice unscathed, she was only tossed away as her lightsaber flew out of her hand. When the panther prepared to tear her apart, Komand rolled away from the beast's path, jumped on her feet and pulled the weapon into her hand. The predator growled again and started pacing in front of the woman. It then ran at her. With bored expression she lifted a rock and threw it at the approaching animal. However, it jumped out of the way and lunged forward, only to have itself being stabbed in the head and pinned to the ground. Komand took a breath and got on her feet.

Ahsoka had been watching the display in awe. She hadn't seen a Jedi actually fight before. But there was one detail which made the girl fear her savior.

Komand looked at the girl and felt fear radiating off her. Why would...ah, yeah, the lightsaber. She turned it off and put the weapon on her belt. The apprentice raised her hands in a gesture of peace and gave a small smile.

"Don't worry, girl, I mean you no harm," she said calmingly, taking off the hood of her black coat.

"You...you are a Sith!" Ahsoka exclaimed.

"What? No, I am not. This lightsaber is a few hundred times older than me," Komand shook the weapon in her hand.

"But you also threw a lighting! The Jedi are forbidden from doing it."

"Aren't you the observant one. This rule is boring," the woman put her right hand on her waist. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm a Jedi Youngling, I was supposed to find my kyber crystal. I found it, but I can't find my way out."

"I see," Komand mumbled thoughtfully, before sighing. "Alright, let's stick together."

"And if I don't want to?" Ahsoka raised her eyebrow.

"Then you will get eaten by other asharls or maybe gorgodons. Not much choice there is, huh?"

Ahsoka crossed her hands and looked at the distance. The girl had to admit that Komand was right. If there will be more creatures, she won't survive through that ones.

"But what are you doing on Ilum if you aren't a Jedi?"

Komand shrugged. "I need another crystal for my lightsaber. Red color seems to scare off the people. So, are you going or not?"

Ahsoka nodded and the woman turned around, strolling away. The girl followed her.

The group continued their way. Judging from the path they were using, Komand guessed that she was getting closer to the surface. Then she found an underground river. It was rather wide, about five meters across, wild and fast. The noise it was creating was almost deafening. It was weird, but the sunlight was getting through some holes in the ceiling, so she could turn off her lightsaber. Komand kneeled near the river and cupped some water. She was thirsty, so she drank some ice cold liquid.

After that they kept going through their path. Komand looked back at the shivering girl and sighed.

"Sorry for sounding too harsh. I'm just a bit annoyed."

"That's okay. But annoyed at what?"

"I have been walking in this hole for gods know how long. And I have yet to find my crystal," Komand muttered.

"You are looking for the crystal, too?"

"Well, yes," the woman said, a bit embarrassed. "Phantom said that I need to 'trust my feelings', but everything I have seen so far are rocks, ice and snow. I have been walking in circles."

"Who is Phantom?"

"My Master and...lover," Komand blushed lightly. Saying it aloud felt much different from thinking about it. "He is really nice, sometimes scary, sometimes annoying as hell."

Both females chuckled at that. Then Ahsoka felt a strong wind coming from certain place. "Hey, look, there must be the entrance," the girl called.

Komand raised her eyebrow and looked where she was pointing. She walked forward, and judging from the increasing speed of wind, or its presence in the first place, it must have been an exit. And it was the exit, indeed. Once they stepped outside, the Force users were greeted by a wild snowstorm again. However, even through the flying snowflakes, they noticed lights on the distance.

"That must be our ship."

-Back to the present-

"So that's basically how we got here," Komand finished.

They had decided to continue the conversation in the main room. Danny was pacing around, listening to the story without a single interruption. Komand was sitting on a sofa, along with Ahsoka, who was given a cup of hot chocolate in order to warm up. The girl was silent throughout the conversation, too, only observing the people she was stuck with. Phantom was much younger than she had expected, she had never seen a Master who was younger than twenty. Yet again, they weren't the Jedi.

"I see," Danny rubbed his chin, before looking at the girl. "What shall we do with you..."

"Uhm, show me the way to our ship?" Ahsoka said uncertainly.

"Hm, yeah, that's probably the best choice," Phantom shrugged. "Komy, if you don't mind..."

"Coming, coming. What would you do without me?" Komand got up, smirked and went to the cockpit.

Ahsoka snickered at the exchange and Danny's expression. They both then followed the woman into the room and situated on their seats. The Fury rose from the surface and up in the air. Komand looked at Ahsoka.

"So, where is your ship?" She asked the girl.

"It should be somewhere on the northern side of the mountains," Ahsoka responded.

"Not very informative," Komand grumbled. "Guess we will have to fly around till we find it."

"I don't think that's necessary," Danny caused the others to turn to him. He only gestured to the front illuminator with his eyes.

There was a small dot in the sky. Komand pressed a button and the image became clearer. The Paladin corvette was already higher in the air, without any indication that it was going to stop. And indeed, it was at the orbit, right before it jumped to hyperspace. Ahsoka's eyes widened in shock.

"How...how long was I unconscious?" She whispered.

"You were unconscious?"

"Yes, or I think so, I...have failed," Ahsoka said grimly.

"Well, you couldn't arrive sooner than eight hours ago," Danny mumbled softly.

"Eight hours?!"

"Yes," Phantom responded curtly. "The night is coming, and from my calculations nights last twenty two days here."

Komand looked at the computer. "Nineteen days, dummy," she deadpanned, causing the ectoplasm to flush to Danny's cheeks and ears.

"Twenty two, nineteen, I'm not very good at math," he said, crossing his hands. "I have a dejavu."

"So they aren't going to return here for nineteen days?" Ahsoka asked weakly.

"I think so," Danny leaned back in his seat. "They have probably assumed that you are dead. If they stayed for too long, no one would have escaped. For NINETEEN days this place turns into domain of hell on Ilum."

"Won't be the first one," Ahsoka mumbled. "Now I have to wait here until they come back."

"It's not necessary. You are aboard of a ship which is equipped with hyperdrive."

The girl looked up at him hopefully. "You can take me to Coruscant?" She asked.

"Well, not exactly. I doubt the security will take kindly to me and Komand owning a military vessel. Besides, when they find out our data is nonexistent in their records, we will have a chance to see how Republican prisons look inside. No, that won't do. My offer is for you to wait in our home, then we will take you back on Ilum when they return. How does that sound?"

And yes, Danny hadn't told her about owning a communicator. He could just call Obi-Wan and inform him, but the man had other plans. Komand meanwhile watched him curiosly. Phantom wouldn't have done something so risky without having a reason to do so. Ahsoka contemplated the decision throughly. It's not like she had any choice. The girl knew what she could do. And surviving in a frozen wasteland for nineteen days was not one of them. She had to rely on the help of that strangers.

"Thank you, sir. I don't know your name, though."

"Danny. Komand, get us back to Babylon, please."

The woman nodded, before directing the interceptor to the orbit. Komand proceeded and let the computer to calculate coordinates. It was easier than carrying an astromech droid around. The group patiently waited untill the calculations were over, before Ahsoka broke the silence.

"I've never heard about this planet," she commented.

Danny leaned back, putting hands behind his head and smirking. "Well, we have a Duchess of that planet on our ship."

The girl's jaw dropped. "Really?" She whispered in awe, looking at blushing Komand.

"Since we got a new ruler, this title is nothing but an annoying nickname," she said.

"Aww, I thought you liked it when I said it," Danny pouted.

Komand just turned away, her face still red. Yes, she enjoyed it, but only when her lover said it. When the computer let out a beep, she pulled the lever and the ship jump to hyperspace. Danny tapped on the chair with his finger, before looking at his girlfriend.

"So, I take it you haven't found a crystal," he said calmly.

The woman hissed slightly. "Uhm, noo..."

"There must be something else then," Phantom hummed in thought, before snapping his fingers. "Bingo. We can change the color of the crystal you already have."

"How do you offer to do that?" Komand raised her eyebrow. Ahsoka was interested, too.

"Through the cleansing ritual. You can form a real bond with your crystal and it will change color. I had a book with detailed description somewhere."

"You have paper books?" Ahsoka asked.

"Why everyone is questioning that?" Danny exclaimed in exasperation.

"Because you are the only one to use them?" Komand offered teasingly.

"Only and proud of it. Alright," Danny clasped his hands. "I have smuggled some Nutella here. Now I need to recall where I put it so we could have breakfast."

"What is this?"

"The food of the gods," Phantom said dramatically, before walking out of the room.

Ahsoka looked at Komand in confusion. "Is he always so..."

"Loony? Quite often, but he is smarter than he looks," she whispered the last part. Both of them snickered.

The following hours went calmly, without any mishaps. However, Ahsoka was still uncertain being near them. The girl didn't know a thing about the strange couple. And since she fully relied on their welcoming attitude, Ahsoka was wary of asking important questions. By occasion everyone was in the main hall. It was a big oval room with a furniture typical for living rooms. Komand was sitting on an armchair, reading some book on her datapad. Ahsoka seemed bored. She had taken her hot coat off, so she was only in gray youngling robes. Danny meanwhile got an idea.

"How about watching the news?" He asked. Without receiving the answer, he turned the monitor on by pressing a button on a remote.

It looked like a typical news channel. There was a symbol of the channel in the corner, a running line nearby and a Babylon time in another corner on top. There was a black studio with multiple lights, in the center was a wide table with a news presenter behind it. The man was well into his thirties, with black mustache and short hair tied back. There was a metal device circling around his head and connecting to his ear. The man was wearing black and gray leather clothes.

"And we have news from our military station on Doisac. This station was created on the order of the Emperor Phantom after the signing of Csilla Agreement. Its purpose is to monitor the movements of the foreign vessels in order to prevent sudden invasions. The station's head operative wishes to share what they have recently detected."

A hologram of the officer appeared on a seat next to the presenter. He was a three meters tall ape-like being, there was something from rhinoceros in him too. He had rough gray skin, black fur and beard. He preferred to wear their species' armor rather than Stormtroopers plastoid, a very big plastoid. The armor consisted several separate parts made from gray metal. However, he had put an Imperial officer badge on his shoulder plate. You could feel a militaristic air around him.

"Captain Maximus, glad the connection came through," the presenter greeted.

"Likewise," the alien said in deep voice.

"So, what is this matter you have found?"

"Our deep space scanners have picked multiple movements through the systems not so far from the Imperial borders. It is a big fleet, we counted at least four hundred vessels."

"Don't you think that could be the Chiss? It is the Galactic North after all."

"This fleet was found in buffer zone. It could be them, but in that case they are breaking the treaty the Emperor has signed one year ago. I have already requested an audience with the Imperial Council where I shall give proofs about the foreign force near our borders. I say that we must destroy this threat before they attack us, and I cannot act without permission or any proper fleets."

"No offense, sir, but do you have an authority to command navies? You are a Captain of ground forces, after all."

"I was speaking figuratively. I meant that the fleets should be assigned to our planet."

"Oh, I see, what about..."

Phantom turned off the monitor and put a hand on his chin. Komand knew that her lover was thinking up something.

"What Empire are they talking about?" Ahsoka asked.

"On papers it is Second Infinite Empire," Danny shrugged. "People just refer to it as 'the Empire' and I call it a Sith Empire just for the fun of it."

"You have a strange humor," Ahsoka said sarcastically.

"You will get used to it, girl," Komand added, rolling her eyes. "Who do you think that trespassers are?" She asked Danny.

"Not a clue, this Jiralhanae looks like a warmonger. I guess he indeed has to prove his findings before the Council."

"Aren't all of them war hungry?" Komand raised her eyebrow.

"True. I have a feeling that we shouldn't give weapons to bloodthirsty monkeys who had once nuked their own planet."

"Oh, and where is your famed multiculturalism?" the woman said dramatically.

"I am multicultural, I respect other cultures and races, but. So should they. They must understand that their constant desire for war is not appreciated within the Empire. Anyways, I need to make a few calls, don't enter my quarters, please."

"You mean my quarters?" Komand asked, raising her eyebrow.

"You are welcome to join afterwards," Danny smirked teasingly, before disappearing behind the metal doors.

After that Ahsoka got bored again. Meditations really weren't her thing. She just lied on a sofa, blowing raspberries. The girl looked to the side and saw that Komand had decided to take a nap. Ahsoka decided to check what Danny was doing at the moment. She got to the room and she immediately heard a familiar voice.

"Is it below President Lockheart to talk with me personally?" Phantom asked.

"The President is dead, sir."

"Explain."

"Lockheart was bitten by a Krate basilisk when he was visiting the planet. Holding a meeting on the open air was a mistake."

"Just wonderful, what the humans think about that?"

"They are unhappy with such development."

"Let me guess, the Empire is to blame."

"Indeed, sir. Their leaders are trying to convince the populace that the Security Bureau is responsible. There are motives and there are ways for us to do so."

"I don't recall ordering his murder. Neither do you, Keeper, right?"

"Of course, My Lord."

"What are the supposed motives?"

"Lockheart was against joining the Empire from the beginning. That meeting was with the biggest bank on Krait. Taking loans from the local banks instead of Central Bank should have secured the autonomy of the planet. If they couldn't return the loan to Krait, then it would have only led to bickering, but it won't be the same when they don't return money to the state."

"It would have given us a reason to tighten the screws," Danny finished. "I see. But that's not us who did this, which leads to the only side which can gain profit from destabilizing the country."

"That dissidents are like gnalroaches, they get everywhere," the Keeper grumbled. "It is only logical. They are viewed as terrorists, so they won't be able to rule relying on people's will. If the country is in turmoil, however, everyone with weapons could do that."

"How humans are showing their displeasure?"

"Protests. Local police is not doing anything with them."

"Contact the governor and order the Stormtroopers to maintain order, but do not attack unless someone attacks them. In that case, beat the provocateurs with shock sticks. Report about developments immediately."

"Yes, my Lord."

With that everything fell silent behind the door, right before it opened. Ahsoka nervously looked up and saw Phantom looking down at her.

"Oh, hey, I was just..."

Danny's expression softened as he sighed.

"How much did you hear?"

"Uhm, something about riots," Ahsoka said uncertainly, not sure what to expect.

Phantom gestured for her to come in. The girl followed and sat on a small chair. Phantom poured the Burgundy wine into a glass.

"As you have probably guessed, I'm not a simple smuggler," he said. "And yes, I am occupying a very comfy place in Imperial hierarchy."

"But...you are a Jedi, yes?"

Danny looked at her. "In a way. After all, there was a time when some of the Jedi were feudals. Some owned entire planets and held the titles of Lords. Funny, isn't it? Jedi Lord sounds rather unusual."

"And you are one of them?"

"No, I'm merely saying that you don't have to be a power hungry Sith to play a role, even if significant, in the government."

"You were acting really harsh," Ahsoka commented.

"This is a harsh world, kiddo."

"I've never seen you in the Order, have you left it?"

Danny snorted, taking a sip of the drink. "You would have left the Order, too, if you looked at it from a different perspective. But no, the Jedi never found me when I was a kid. I'm...self taught, you can say. But, I know a lot of things. Enough about me, I don't know a thing about you, girl."

"Well, I'm ten years old and I'm from planet Shili."

"Go on," Danny pried.

"I've been in the Jedi Order since I was three. Master Plo Koon found me and brought to the temple where I belong," Ahsoka smiled.

"And your parents?"

The girl's smile faded. "I don't remember them, I was an orphan by the time Master Plo discovered me."

Danny patted her on shoulder. "Hey, that's alright. You have a new family, don't you?"

"Well, there is my clan, but we don't talk much with each other."

"Ouch. If it helps, I wasn't on good terms with my parents."

"No, it doesn't help," Ahsoka grumbled.

Danny sighed. "Yeah. I thought so. But, I might have something to cheer you up."

"And that is..."

"I can order to make details for your lightsaber. You've got your crystal, right?"

"Wow, really?" Ahsoka gasped. Phantom nodded, and she beamed brightly at him. But then the girl looked conflicted. "But...I don't have anything to pay you back for everything."

Danny smiled. "Don't worry, I don't need anything from you. I'm just glad to help. Besides, wait before you see the place you will be staying in."

Before she could ask what he meant, the communicator beeped again. Danny sighed and rubbed his temples. "You may go if you want. I have a lot of work to do after my vacation."

"Okay," the girl said, going out of the room.

Their trip was coming to an end, and the group started to wait in the cockpit. Ahsoka looked at Komand curiously.

"What's this planet like?" She asked.

Komand rolled her eyes, not looking up from the datapad. "Babylon is an ecumenopolis and the capital of the Empire. Six hundred billion people," she finished, pressing a few buttons. "Coming out of hyperspace now."

The white lines appeared around the ship, before dispersing. Ahsoka was impressed by the sight, even if she had seen Coruscant before. Babylon's night side glowed with multicolored dots, forming beautiful shapes. Thousands of ships were departing and arriving on the planet in the controlled traffic lines. A considerable Home Fleet, consisting hundred ships and including Hyperion, was stationed near the moon. Receiving a permission to land, the ship flew to the lightened side of the planet.

"Where are we going?" Ahsoka asked.

"We are going to the Imperial District in its northern belt."

"What's so important there?"

"It is the center of the Empire's politics," Danny crossed his hands. "All governmental buildings stand there: Supreme Court, The High Council and the Imperial Palace. There are also the Headquarters of the Intelligence and the Ministry of War. Everything is on close enough proximity on planetary scale. The Court is secluded from the rest, though. No one wants the judges to grow buddies with another ministries. The district also consists living places for the officials."

"Oh," Ahsoka said. "So we are going to your home?"

"Yep," Komand answered, without looking away from the 'road'. "Hey, Danny, I just thought, this ship is not very practical."

Phantom rolled his eyes. "Meaning?"

"Well, it's like you said, we are driving a military vessel. Not exactly the way to be discrete."

"Hm, I can see your point. We'll think up something."

Soon the ship descended on a landing platform. The group came out of the ship, and Ahsoka's eyes were ready to jump out. On close proximity, the Palace, or at least what she had assumed was the Palace, looked very majestic. When she finally looked down, Ahsoka noticed that two adults were waiting for her. She blushed slightly and followed.

"What are we doing here?" The girl asked.

"We live here," Danny said in amusement, without looking back.

"But...this is the Palace of the Emperor, right?"

Phantom smirked and glanced back, before winking. Ahsoka's jaw dropped slowly as she realized what was going on. Her thought was confirmed when several guards in black armor and opened helmets stood still.

"Your Highness, we are glad to see you returning back in safety," the chief of security greeted.

"Thank you, Commander. I will be fine on my own from now."

The chief nodded, before his eyes fell on Ahsoka.

"And who is..."

"She is something we don't share outside of the Palace, am I clear?"

"Yes, My Lord," the man bowed.

The guards stepped aside and the group walked another hundred meters towards the doors. Danny opened them with a light flick of his hand, but when they entered, a blue wisp escaped from Phantom's mouth. He didn't have time to react when something clutched his leg with excited squeal.

"Daddy!" Dani exclaimed in joy, earning a laugh from her father and a smile from his girlfriend.

"Someone help, the Emperor is under attack!" Phantom moaned jokingly, before picking up the giggling girl and hugging her tightly. "How are you doing, princess?"

"Great, we've been playing with HK ALL time," she moved her hands to show how much time they had been playing.

Phantom and Komand looked confused. "He really played with you?" Danny asked in bewilderment.

"Yep," the girl beamed. "There he is!" She pointed her finger at the column.

HK peaked slightly from behind it. "Begging: Please, move this demon away from me," he whimpered.

Danny and Komand blinked, before looking at the girl.

"Alright, what in both worlds happened here?" Phantom asked.

"Answer: It was an unstoppable torture. Endless suffering."

Dani was smiling innocently, all she was lacking was a glowing nimb above her head.

"You are exaggerating," Komand stated.

"Exclamation: EXAGGERATING?! I still can't find some of my details. She. Is. Evil."

"Does that look evil to you?" Danny asked, lifting the girl.

"Warning: You don't know what is hidden under the cover."

When Phantom put Dani on the ground, the child noticed Ahsoka. Before everyone could even blink, she was already near the older girl. The togruta jumped in surprise slightly.

"Hi, I'm Dani, who are you? What are you doin' here? What's your favorite color?"

"Uhm, I'm Ahsoka, my favorite color is red, and I'm staying here for a while, apparently."

"Cool, c'mon, I'll show you the Palace!" Dani babbled excitedly, pulling Ahsoka after her. The latter was surprised at the white haired girl's strength.

"Should we watch over them?" Komand asked.

"Good thinking. H...where is that droid?"

He heard rapid metallic clanking and saw a tiny bit of orange plating running behind the corner.

"Looks like we are alone," Danny deadpanned.

"Good. Danny, we have to talk."

"Let me guess, that's about Ahsoka. I have reasons for helping her out, Komy. I promise I'll tell you when the time comes, but until then, be as welcoming as possible," Phantom gave a peck on her cheek, before strolling off. "I have to go for a Council session. Look after the kids while I'm gone, alright?"

"Fine, shoo," the woman waved him off.

Danny rolled his eyes with amused smirk and dissappeared in a cloud of smoke.


	29. Chapter XXIX: Two birds with one stone

"In the name of the Empire and the Emperor, the twenty sixth session of the Imperial Council may begin!" The announcer said loudly.

Over the course of one year the main ruling organ after the ruler himself grew considerably. Most of that time was passed either in numerous conquests led by Phantom personally, or rapid colonization of the new worlds. The Empire counted about eight hundred inhabited planets, not to mention thousands of uninhabited systems. To rule over a country of this size a small group of officials couldn't be as efficient. In total, there were thirty eight Grand Moffs, each controlling one Upper Sector, which consisted five sectors ruled by Moffs.

Phantom crossed his legs and leaned back on his throne as the announcer spoke again. "First of all, His Majesty has accepted the request of Captain Maximus of the Mundus Master-Pack. However, due to certain situations on his homeworld, we are now greeting the governor Goldstein, who is being charged with ruling the planet. Please come forth."

The man sure had a big promotion. He was one of the first human high-ranking officials. By showing his utter loyalty to the Empire during the subduing of Doisac he had earned the position of the planetary co-ruler. His hair fit his last name - they were blond, his eyes were forest green. The man wore a black officer uniform with a badge including two blue squares, one red and one yellow ones. He went forward towards the center of the room, giving occasional brief glances at the ghostly ruler, who wore an ice wreath on his head.

"Respectable members of the Council, Your Highness, as my collegue has promised, I brought the proofs of foreign presence within the Imperial borders."

He took a flash drive and inserted the device into the hole projector. Immediately the image of multiple shemes appeared in the air. Goldstein took a metal pointer and gestured for one of the shemes.

"We started receiving the data one month ago. At first we shared the Council's skepticism. Since we are not the research observatory, only military post, our quantum scanners picked a multitude of signals coming from several parsecs away. At first we have guessed that that was a simple asteroid belt. But, the movement lines were too straight for that. We got a final confirmation that that movements were controllable when they took a drastical turn in another direction in a matter of seconds. As you can see on graphics, the gap between us and the supposed ships was increasing on steady pace, when they suddenly started furthering faster."

"The asteroids could enter the gravitational pull of a big planet or star," Phantom interrupted. "There has to be something more valuable."

"Yes, Your Highness. We don't think that's the case, because then there are too few asteroids to be a system wide belt. By now we have counted three hundred of different sized supposed ships. They seem to be roaming around, and we believe that it is a matter of time until they find us. I know that sounds like we are being paranoid, but the risks are too high. Doisac is positioned on the very edge of Imperial Space, and this planet will be the first one to be attacked."

"All ships have signature," Lord General noted. "And the scanners had to pick them."

"Well...no, there weren't any. Instead, we have noted that they are pulsating."

"That is not much of a proof," one of the Grand Moffs said. "For everything, it could be just purgils," he received multiple nods.

When Goldstein seemed lost, the Emperor rubbed his chin in thought. Phantom raised his hand and everyone fell silent.

"I fail to see how this can be a matter of debates. This outpost was created with the purpose of detection of ANYTHING suspicious. Yes, Grand Moff Wells decided to use the military budget of his Upper Sector differently and he couldn't afford more expensive sensors."

The Emperor glanced at the hologram of the named official and the man gulped inwardly. "My Lord, the amount of credits we require is bigger. It's hard to arm the native volunteers when they are three meters tall. Not to mention the nonexistent military infrastructure..."

"It wasn't a reprimand," Phantom said with a note of amusement. "I'm merely stating that the observation post can use more money. Take a note of it. As for you, Governor, we indeed need a true confirmation. A scout will be sent to find the cause. Until then, all fleets in neighboring systems must be battle ready."

Goldstein bowed. "Thank you, My Lord."

"Now, let's move on to the other issues."

But at the same time Danny's original was elsewhere. It was a small room for meditations, twenty square meters. One of the walls had multiple windows, hidden behind metal jalousie. There were several puffy chairs, which were wide enough to cross legs and sit in the required position. That's exactly what Komand was doing, while Danny slowly walked around. Komand, along with Ahsoka, were following the man with their eyes. The latter was really curious and was eager to learn more about the Force. And Danny let her stay and watch.

It was so strange for the Togruta girl. On history lessons she had learned about the Emperor of the past. For the Jedi, everyone who was not a pure follower of light was considered a Sith. Not that there were any for thousands of years, except that Zabrak guy on Naboo. And now she saw the Emperor, who seemed to be a very kind fellow. Just his parental interactions with his Little Phantom were enough to wave off any suspicions about hidden evil. Yet, he used the Dark Side and had a worrying knowledge of it. It was just so confusing for her.

Dani meanwhile was lying on one of the chairs, with a bored pout on her face. What three year old would be interested in a lecture?

"Alright, details aside, let's get to business. Red Kyber crystals can be acquired in two ways. By making a synthetic one or through the 'bleeding'. The Dark Side users can corrupt the crystal. Imagine it as the slave who is made obedient after being continuously hit with a whip. Same thing here. By 'healing' the crystal, you will form a bond with it and it will change color to the one which suits you best."

"So, is it like healing a person?" Komand raised her eyebrow.

"Bingo," Danny snapped his fingers, taking the red crystal seemingly out of nowhere. "Alright, we can start now. Kids," he looked at the two girls, "Be quiet, please."

"Alright/Okaay," they said at the same time.

The crystal floated in front of the woman's eyes, which she had closed. Danny leaned against the wall with crossed hands. His daughter meanwhile flopped on a seat near Ahsoka, rolling on her belly. She was still bored. Ahsoka chuckled quietly at seeing the smaller child's attitude. Dani was here only because HK didn't want to have anything to do with her again. Suddenly the girl perked up, got up and quietly ran to her father.

"Daddy," she whispered excitedly.

"Wait a second, baby girl," Danny answered, leaning down to her ears.

Dani pouted and crossed her hands. Komand took a deep breath as the crystal glowed brighter. First with the same red color as the crystal itself, then something smoke-like started to emit, like if the redness was exiting it. Several seconds later, the crystal started to glow with pearly white color. When Komand opened her eyes, she saw the result of her work and gently took it in her palm. Then she heard a clapping coming from her lover.

"Bravo, Duchess, you made it. Now put it in your lightsaber," Danny instructed.

Komand rolled her eyes and did as the man had told her. When the completed lightsaber fell in her palm, she activated it, filling the room with white light. Komand and Ahsoka stared at the blade in surprise. So the lightsaber could have this color as well. Danny coughed to get their attention.

"Since you now have the lightsaber which is completely yours, we have a small task ahead. Get up and sit on one knee, please."

"You are not actually planning something?" Komand gave him a weirded look.

Danny only turned on the lightsaber of his own. "Nope. Just a casual ceremony."

Komand, still not fully understanding what he meant, still kneeled in front of him. For some reason, Danny seemed really amused, even if he tried to keep a serious face and sound accordingly.

"By right of arms, I, the Emperor of the Second Infinite Empire, do dub you with my sword, and by all that you hold sacred, true and righteous...Once for Honor," he moved the transparent blade a mere inch from her shoulder, "Twice for Duty," he moved the saber to another shoulder, "Thrice for Loyalty. From now on, you hold the title of the Emperor's Hand. You may stand now."

Komand got up on her feet. "The Emperor's Hand?"

"Yes," Danny turned off his weapon and put it on his belt. "It means that you are no longer my apprentice, or padawan, but something bigger. Of course, if you have questions, you can ask them. You will still go on assignments across the Galaxy. But you can take an apprentice of your own now. We need the new Order to grow, even if you will be the only one having this rank."

"Aww," she smiled and pecked his cheek. "I'm honored."

"You are welcome. Now, Dani, you wanted to say something?" Everyone turned to the girl, who perked up and jumped on her place.

"Aha! I can shoot green thingies, look!"

The girl made two pistols with her fingers. "Pew!" She said and fired two small ectoblasts. Everyone stared wide eyed at the show, but Danny's look quickly turned into that of excitement. He squealed, manly as ever, and hugged Dani tightly.

"My little girl grows up so fast!" Danny said.

The girl giggled and hugged his neck as well. "Am I a big girl, now, Daddy?"

"Well, not yet, sweetheart. But you learned it two years earlier before ghost children actually do that."

"Woah, wait, so firing blasts from the hands is alright for your race?" Ahsoka asked in bewilderment.

"Yes," Danny answered. "I wonder when she learns other things."

"Other things?!"

The stark haired man only winked. "Oh, I just remembered, Komy. Go to the Fifth Dock of the Andromeda Spaceport. I and IRB have a wonderful surprise for you waiting in there. Kids," Phantom suddenly picked up two girls. "Let's go celebrate Dani's first power and have some ice cream."

"Yes!" Both girls cheered before the three ran out of the room, leaving a chuckling woman alone.

Komand exited the palace grounds soon after, before using the train to get to the destination. She was wearing black robes with a hood pulled down. No one recognized her, besides, the newly named Emperor's Hand wasn't the most public figure. The biggest spaceport of the Empire was located about five hundred miles away, but the high-speed transport got her there really quickly.

Andromeda Spaceport was built during the beginning of the space age for the race inhabiting the planet. In the following centuries it expanded and grew to the needs of Interstellar Empire. Now the country controlled one fourth of the Galaxy. The renamed spaceport grew on rapid speed. A lot of money were spent on it, but the increasing amount of paid tarrifs had covered the expenses by then. Prosperity for the capital was good, but spending extra money on modernizing toilets was stupid nevertheless, so better keep the profits for the future.

Komand didn't use the special entrance, she went to the government reserved Docks. She didn't need to go through any checking points, just show her pass to the security in order to be let inside. After going through the long corridors Komand got to the spacey and comfy room with a single window. The woman approached the window, which gave a look at the dock itself. Her eyes opened widely at the sight. Danny had sticked to his word and got her a better ship.

It was slick in design, eighty meters in length and ninety four in width. Its hull was painted in light gray, which almost seemed white. There were several hollow places, circled by archways, which were shining with blue color. It didn't look like a vessel for operations, it looked like a luxury yacht. It was beautiful. Suddenly Komand was snapped out from her staring when she heard a cough near her. When she looked to the side, Komand saw Danny standing there with a grin on his face and a cup of ice cream in his hands.

"Like it?" He asked.

Komand just blinked. "What's this thing?"

"Well, it took a lot of effort to get this baby operational. However, I had a good laugh when I learned about its name. This ship was a prototype during the Great Galactic War and it is the technological peak even now. Looks like a luxury shuttle, has military capacities equal to the heavy interceptor."

"And what's its name?"

"On the blueprints it was called 'X-70B 'Phantom''."

At that they both burst laughing. The irony was just too thick.

"Where did you get the blueprints?" Komand asked as they started to walk to the ship.

"It was quite a journey. First I briefly visited Dromund Kaas, found the info about where this ships were manufactured in incredibly short amount. And there I found them, before bringing the blueprints to the IRB. I'm not very good at shipbuilding, so they looked into it. But, I put the ecto cannons of my own construction instead of laser cannons. Don't worry, I tested them, my toys combine lasers' destructiveness and ion cannons' shutdown effects. There are also missiles, military shielding and processors. All of that is hidden carefully, no sensor would pick them. There is only one problem. Cloaking device cannot be used to the full extent, so if you try to hide the ship itself, they will still find you."

The trap opened and the two entered the ship. Danny led her to the main room by turning to the right in the corridor.

The ship's interior featured custom wood panelling over white metal and cushioned seating, and within the X-70B was a luxurious central lounge with a gaming table and recessed food coolers, as well as a long-range communications holoterminal. Attached to the lounge was a medical bay, behind which was a spacious cargo bay.

"Now let's get to your mission. I want you to check out one system," Danny said.

"Let me guess, it is the one which turns the entire Council upside down."

"Yep, the coordinates are in your computer."

Danny came closer and kissed his girlfriend on lips, and the woman kissed back. "Good luck. And try not to blow up the shuttle which costs like a battleship."

Komand rolled her eyes, but smiled. "No promises. Now let me get to work, Your Majesty."

Phantom saluted her and dissappeared. Komand sighed. "I know you are still here, Danny."

She heard a boyish laughter, before Danny disappeared fully. The woman gave a look around the lounge, before getting to the cockpit. A few minutes later the ship was already on the planetary orbit. Komand turned on the hologram of the stellar map, which was positioned to the right, between a pilot seat and copilot's. There was a small red dot on the blue and white hologram. It was located to the North-North-East from the current location, and was indeed in the buffer zone between the Ascendancy and the Empire. Komand didn't have a hard time getting used to the new controls, so she, rather easily, jumped to the system closest to it.

The journey took an entire day. The Galaxy was huge, and getting somewhere even on the speed faster than light could take long. When Komand was on the cockpit again, she started to wait until it was time to exit the subdimension. And when it happened, there was only a blackness of space around. She had choosen that system to get a better scan first. She didn't want to ram into something, because the information about the strength of the trespassers ships' hull won't be much of the use.

Then the woman noticed that she wasn't alone. The scanners had picked the presence of one more ship in the system. It was bigger than hers. And if Komand managed to pick the other vessel, then so was the other guest. She decided to be daring. Just in case she let the computer to calculate the route back, but until then she started to wait. Soon the other ship revealed itself and Komand didn't like it at all, because the black cruiser could belong to only one nation.

"Of all people it should be the Chiss," Komand cursed, before her ship shook.

Aand she got caught by a tractor beam, just peachy. You don't need an Interdictor to prevent much smaller ship from jumping away. Komand had to think up something, and quickly. Danny wasn't going to like that trespassing as well. He would believe her, but Komand had to bring the valuable proofs, recording from the hidden camera was enough, and her robes were spacey enough to hide one.

Meanwhile outside of her shuttle and inside the hanger the Chiss Marines were preparing to pry the doors open if needed, being armed to teeth and battle ready. But first, one of the officers stepped forward and took a megaphone.

"The owner of this ship, come out now and surrender or we will have to use the brute force," the officer said in Sy Bisti.

A few seconds later the shuttle's trapdoor opened and Komand slowly walked out with hands raised slightly in surrender.

"Alright, alright, just don't blow anything up!" She said in the same language.

One of the soldiers stepped closer and started searching for weapons. He found the lightsaber and gave it to the officer. And then he found a camera and gave it as well. Then the blue skinned man suddenly put a hand on his ear, through which he received another order.

"Follow me," he commanded.

Komand didn't object, there was no going back now. After walking through the numerous corridors, she was brought to the required room. There she saw another man who was standing with his back turned to her.

"Leave us, please," the commander said, and his voice sounded oddly familiar.

The officer complied with the order and left with the woman's weapon still in his hand. Then the commander turned around and Komand understood why the voice was so familiar.

"What an unexpected meeting," Thrawn commented, before gesturing for the seat. "Sit down, please."

"I didn't know the Chiss knew what a sarcasm is," Komand deadpanned, still sitting.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You are a 'strategic mastermind'. We obviously would have detected the movements of your fleets."

"I wouldn't say that I'm a mastermind. Those aren't our ships. I believe we are here with the same purpose."

"How do I know you are not trying to deceive me?"

"If I wanted no evidence, we would have just killed you. Or even better, we would have shown that the Empire is breaking the treaty by sending ships into the neutral zone or kept this information as the blackmail."

"Fine. What do you want with me now?"

"With you? Nothing. But I'd like to have a conversation with your ruler to which you seem to be very close."

"Why?"

"I have a suspicion about who that trespassers are. But again, our fleets won't attack until they do. We call them Far Outsiders."

"And you call them that because..."

"Because we believe that they come from another Galaxy."

"But...that will take centuries to get here."

"Nevertheless, they ARE in a system neighboring this one. Your Emperor doesn't seem to mind attacking first. I planned on just watching them closely, but your convenient appearance helps a lot. So, can you fulfill my request and put him through?"

Komand crossed her hands. "I don't have anything to call him with."

"Not a problem," Thrawn said, handing her a holocommunicator.

Komand pressed a few buttons and Danny's hologram appeared. He didn't look well, his hair looked like a pure chaos, more than usual and he had an exhausted expression on his face. Komand choked down her laughter while Thrawn raised an eyebrow.

"Please tell me you have good news," Phantom begged, fixing his hair.

"Well, here is someone who wants to talk to you."

Danny looked back and his eyes widened. "My, Commander Thrawn. What do I owe a pleasure?"

"Am I interrupting anything?"

"Uhm, no. I can spare a minute. I think."

Thrawn sighed. Then he proceeded to explain the situation in details, while Danny patiently listened, occasionally glancing to the side for some reason. He was looking at something on his side of the hologram.

"So we have a fleet of aggressive xenophobic aliens counting four hundred vessels?" Phantom hummed.

"Surely that's nothing your fleets can't handle."

"We are not the mercenaries, Commander. I won't just send my people to death, unless there is a profit for the Empire...Actually," Danny grinned. "There is a way to kill two birds with one stone. This is a risky plan, but it has got to work."

Thrawn seemed interested. "Go on."

"You probably know that there are still loyalists of the old regime. But I have just found the way to get rid of them without risking our fleets. I know where they hide, and if those 'Far Outsiders' are as aggressive as you say..."

"We can lure them there and force to fight with each other," Thrawn finished in realization. "Your...apprentice's ship will be too irrelevant. I offer my assistance in the issue. The loyalists won't attack us immediately, but the Outsiders shoot on sight."

"I'll rally the fleet. We will have to make several evasive maneuvers to hide our movements for surprise attack. It will take about...thirty one hour."

"Remove three hours," Komand said with an innocent smile.

"I'll clarify that later and inform you. Commander Thrawn, I put my hopes in you."

With that the transmission was over. Komand was given back her weapon and was let to stay on her ship. The woman spent her time differently, she enjoyed the luxuries of her ship, starting from a warm bath and ending with a refrigerator full of drinks. The mission was going nice so far. Her belongings were previously brought inside, even the photo from the vacation. She had to watch out for the Chiss, though, they could try to learn the breakthrough technologies of the shuttle.

One moment Komand heard a beep, which was a thing similar to a doorbell on a spaceship. Confused, the woman opened the trap and saw Thrawn standing there.

"May I come in?"

"Uhm...sure?" Komand responded uncertainly.

The blue skinned man entered the shuttle and got to the central lounge, where he sat on a sofa. Komand was caught off guard by his straightforwardness, and followed the Chiss. Thrawn meanwhile observed the design of the room around him.

"This doesn't look like Yuthanean style," he commented.

"I didn't know you are an expert on this stuff."

"I appreciate any form of art. It allows to understand the race better, their uniqueness and their...weaknesses. But I haven't come here for discussions about that. I just want to satisfy my curiosity."

"And what do you want to know?"

Thrawn sighed, crossing his hands. "Our last agreement with him led to my reprimand. One more step against the orders, and I will be disowned by my family. And this is exactly what we are planning to do."

"Harsh."

"Effective. Unworthy of family name are being cast away, leaving only the most loyal and capable. I wanted to ask more about your ruler, since you are probably very close to him."

"Yes, I am, but he doesn't like to share much of his past, unless it's a funny story he would love to tell. Fighting with a huge pile of meat or finding out that a male monkey was actually a she. Danny may seem childish, but you probably know that there is more to that."

Thrawn nodded and urged her to continue.

"From what I have learned, the members of his race need a purpose to exist or they slowly fade. They don't choose this purpose, but it often comes from their interests. Danny just had to be a peacekeeper by nature. He thinks of himself as the protector of the Galaxy. He even conquers not for power but for peace of many generations afterwards. If you are worried about the Ascendancy, don't be. Danny knows that your country won't harm his people, so he isn't interested in fighting the Chiss. And by fighting this Outsiders he is helping you out, right?"

The Chiss put a hand on his chin. He seemed to be contemplating something, when his communicator started to beep.

"I believe it's time to go to the bridge."

He got up and Komand decided to follow. When they got to their destination point, Thrawn sat on the Commander's chair. Then the hologram was put through and Phantom appeared in front of them, wearing his military attire.

"The time has come, Commander. Their long ranged sensors are malfunctioning at the moment, hehe. We are waiting for the fight to start."

A sudden thought occured in Thrawn's mind. "And what if the loyalists escape?"

"They won't," Danny smirked. "Our fight with the Vagaari didn't go without benefits for our technological advancement. The Interdictor Star Destroyer is a prototype for now, but it works. That's what we will do. Once the battle begins, we will come in and stand by side, while the interdiction field is on."

"You will be their target," Thrawn noted. "Is there any planet or an asteroid field?"

"Yes. A gas giant," Danny made a pause. "You are offering to hide until the time comes."

"Exactly. The interdiction field should be able to reach them. The loyalists won't be able to escape through the Outsiders lines under massive fire."

"You heard him, Admiral," Phantom looked at someone out of the hologram, before turning back. "Good luck."

When the transmission was over, Danny heard a crash nearby. His head snapped in the direction of the sound, and he saw Dani near the fallen blasters, which had previously hung on the wall. One of the blasters was in her tiny arms, and that caused all members of the crew to pale. Ahsoka ran inside the room, sweating, red and panting for breath.

"I'm so sorry, sir, I...she is too quick!" She exclaimed.

Danny sighed and rubbed his temples. Why had he even decided to bring them along? Ah, yes, puppy eyes.

"Danielle, put the blaster down," he said sternly.

The girl pouted and put the weapon back on its place. Phantom was about to return to his work, when he felt Dani hugging his leg.

"Sorry, Daddy," she said, sounding as sorry as the three years old could. "I wanted to play with wee-ponies."

Danny smiled and ruffled her hair and the girl smiled. It was their universal gesture, which showed her that everything was alright. Several crew members smiled at the sight. There was one thing the citizens of the Empire were joking about. If the Emperor was indeed a God, then the white haired girl was his angel. It was especially common among the Hyperion personnel, who often interacted with the child directly. The hyperactive girl had an angelic personality, mixed with a simple childish mischief.

Ahsoka approached them. "So, why are we here?" The soon-to-be Padawan asked.

"Oh, this is going to be quite a fight."

"If I have anything to say about this, My Lord," Admiral Pilion stepped forward. "The battlefield is no place for children."

"I know. We are in a simple space void at the moment. Have you ever participated in a fight, Ahsoka?"

"Eh, no. Younglings are not let there. You have to be at least a Padawan for that. Who are you fighting against?"

"Slavers, terrorists and aggressive aliens," Danny responded curtly and shrugged. "Not much difference from the Republic, except the fact that we are turning them into space dust."

"Without trials?" Ahsoka asked.

"Well, you don't need a trial when dealing with the terrorists. All proofs are evident and they don't deny that. And the punishment for their acts will be severe," Danny hugged Dani tighter with one hand. "Now, we must wait for the right moment to go there."

"Which is now, Your Highness. The battle shall begin by the time we get there," Pillion said, looking at the clocks.

"Then jump."

The entire first fleet entered the hyperspace one by one. Danny rubbed his chin in thought. He couldn't send the children away, one lucky shot and he won't be there to help. Still, many beings' death was not an appropriate sight. Sighing, Phantom made a duplicate, who led two girls out of the room. Yes, his power allowed to make a lot of copies, but the more he made, the less concentrated he became. And during the fight he needed all his mind. After some time Komand made a call.

"I have good news and the bad news, which is first?" She asked.

"Start from the good one."

"Well, we definitely got their attention. They left a few dents, since we had to get close enough and make a few shots."

"And the bad one?"

"The Outsiders' ships seem to be...organic."

At this everyone turned to the hologram.

"Explain."

"They seem to be made of flesh, pulsating, throbbing and shifting. They shot some plasma from their cannons, or maybe it was magma, I don't know. This stuff is slowly melting off the hull, and Thrawn sent the engineers to fix the problem. They can have some nasty surprises for us in the future. We have damaged one of their ships and jumped to the meeting point."

So, Goldstein was right all along. That weren't just space whales.


	30. Chapter XXX: Everything she has

"Did they follow you?" Danny asked.

"It's hard to say," Thrawn replaced Komand on the hologram after a short interference. "We jumped first, after all. But, the Outsiders don't leave anyone alive, so I suppose they will follow us by using radiation trail the hyperspace movements leave. We will have to pull time with the loyalists to give our enemies a chance to destroy each other."

"I see. Proceed as you have planned, we will do our part."

Komand and Thrawn looked at each other once the communication was over.

"Soo, how are we intending to do that?" She asked.

Thrawn rubbed his chin. "You can tell them that this ship was a gift from the Ascendancy and you have stolen it along with the droid crew."

Komand hummed. The idea sounded good enough, and they didn't have time to think up another before they came out of hyperspace. The gas giant, which wasn't yet given a name, was dark blue, with several spots of brighter color. The fleet around was rather different in its composition. There were old Yuthanean cruisers and battleships, mixed with the stolen Star Destroyers, on which the loyalists had put their paintjob.

The current fleet of the New Infinite Empire was made of Harrowers and Terminus classes, not much variety, but the IRB was working on it. They were ordered to make corvettes and huge battleships, so the Imperial Navy would be more multitasking. Two prototypes, besides the Interdictor, were built already, and the loyalists were in for a surprise.

The holocommunicator beeped. Thrawn stepped aside so he couldn't be seen from the other end, and gestured for Komand to come closer to the machine. The woman pressed a button and the hologram appeared, and to say that she was pleased would be a mistake. She glared at the man in front of her.

"This Galaxy is too small, child," Scaball said.

"Do I know you?" Komand asked just to annoy him.

"Don't pretend, girl, you know me all too well. Now, why are you here?"

"I want to see my father."

Scaball raised his eyebrow. "And you come here all alone, in our secret hideout, on the Chiss Cruiser."

Komand crossed her arms. "So? You want this ship or not?"

"Hm, yes, maybe. Wait...how did you know that we are here?" The man asked suspiciously.

"The Emperor knows, he just told me. He is collecting the fleet to strike you down."

Scaball flinched visibly. "How much time do we have until he barges in?"

"Twenty hours. His Intelligence claws in deeply, it wasn't too hard to find you. Is my father there?"

"Gods, you are annoying. Yes, he is."

"Then put him through."

Thrawn meanwhile frowned. His accomplice was too inclined in this, it could threaten the entire operarion. But he couldn't interfere, in order to avoid suspicions. Scaball meanwhile narrowed his eyes.

"You are not ordering around here, girl."

"Do you have him or not?" Komand asked slowly and menacingly.

Scaball pressed a few buttons. "His communicator is still in repair. Go to his ship, the information about which one was transmitted. Meanwhile order to put your cruiser in line, we have to choose the system to stay in."

The second the transmission was over, Thrawn stepped forward. "I hope you are not actually considering to do this. It's a trap."

"Tell me something I don't know," Komand growled.

"I take it you know that man."

"Yes. Our families had been into each other's throats for centuries. That bastard in particular is one slimy slug. It's a suspicion that he staged the death of my brother, and I could never believe that he managed to cooperate with my father. And I think he has a personal grudge against Phantom. He was the first high noble to suffer during his rise. And yes, I'm going to that ship. I will evacuate when the Outsiders arrive."

Thrawn rubbed his chin. "I'm not the one to hope on sheer luck, neither I count on one person or situation."

"I'm still going, Commander, and you are not going to stop me."

The Chiss raised his hands slightly. "Just don't blame me afterwards. I warned you. How much time do we have until the newest arrivals?"

"Thirty minutes, sir."

Thrawn nodded and looked at the Emperor's Hand. "I recommend you to check the clocks."

Komand walked out of the bridge and went to her ship. X-70 took off a few minutes later, and the hangers were opened for it. Komand had received the coordinates and flew towards the required cruiser. By the time she got there, twenty minutes had already passed. She was pulling time, after all. The ship looked a lot like Hyperion, but was smaller. Danny actually considered switching to another ship with the same name. Yes, Hyperion had served him well, but it now looked so bleak compared to the rest of the fleet. Maybe a five miles long beast for a spaceship. The project was in work, classified as the Super Star Destroyer.

When the young woman landed, she exited the shuttle and followed the soldier. Unsurprisingly, she saw only the Yuths around. What alien would fight for its future subjugator? Soon Komand was led to the bridge. The crew kept glancing at her warily, and particularly on the lightsaber on her belt. Komand looked around, but didn't see a single sign of Sul anywhere.

"Well, that was to be expected," she mumbled.

"Did you really think I will forgive your betrayal?" Komand heard a voice behind her. Scaball was standing there, pointing a blaster to her head. "Your little toy, please."

Komand glared at him and slowly reached for her weapon. "Oh no, better me."

Scaball snatched the lightsaber with his free hand, still pointing the blaster at her temple. Several soldiers were pointing their guns at her as well.

"No one likes traitors, girl. And you have done it before, why would I need another? Especially if you are from the family I hate the most, after Phantoms, of course. Tell me, how many ships of your lover's Empire are coming here?"

"Like I should know," Komand spat. "I had other plans."

Scaball grabbed her chin harshly. "What kind of plans?"

Komand glanced at the clocks on the wall. They were obviously set to the Babylonian time, and the time caused the young woman to smirk. Scaball mistook what the smirk meant and slapped her, making Komand hiss in pain.

"What? Still funny, girl?!" The man snapped. "Oh, don't worry, you will soon join your Daddy in the grave."

At that words Komand froze as her expression became solid. "What?" She whispered, hoping that she mistook what she had heard.

Scaball kept grinning. "Ever since we tried to get the 'Emperor's' little brat, Sul seemed too shifty. Our small war council decided that he couldn't be trusted, so we just got rid of him. I was truthful in one thing. This ship used to be his," the man tapped on the metal surface. "Too sad I couldn't see his face when the blaster bolt pierced his head. Oh, well," the man moved his pointing finger to the trigger. "I guess you will do."

Before Komand could snap every bone in his body, one of the crew members jumped from his seat. "S-sir, there is...something!"

"What is...it..."

Scaball's eyes widened in shock and fear. Everyone looked towards the front illuminator as the space in front of them was filled with the fleet, and more and more were coming out of hyperspace. If that wasn't the Imperial fleet, then who? But the question 'who were they' was irrelevant. Everyone just stared at their ships.

They could be hardly called ships, they had some resemblance to space whales and other enormous animals the size of the dreadnoughts. Some ships were even moving their flippers, like that same whales. Beings living in vacuum used the same principles as the squids and the most primitive thrusters, by using the Second law of Newton. There were also ships, which seemed to be 'built' inside the moving asteroids. As was previously said, the Outsiders' ships were obviously organic. One ship looked like multiple story jellyfish. They obviously weren't a herd of animals, they were too different.

Thrawn was observing the scene and noticed that the Outsiders weren't shooting. The amount of ships was similar on each side, but the loyalists had a bit less. Well, it was good that his ship had a few turbolasers even on the back side. He ordered to turn around. Thrawn cincerely hoped that Komand was going to make it on her own, otherwise his plan would be ruined and the furious Emperor could turn on him. The Outsiders were out of firing range, but were approaching too quickly. It wasn't exactly the sign of good intentions.

Scaball started to panick. "Get us out of this system, quick!"

While they were attempting to jump away, Thrawn ordered to move as far as they could from the battlefield, putting the entire energy to the engines. The loyalists' ships entered the hyperspace, but didn't last there for more than a second. Each vessel shook violently, making everyone inside fall on the metal floor. They were literally pulled out. Komand saw it as the opportunity. She pulled the lightsaber out of Scaball's grasp and activated it when it flew into her hand. When the soldiers fired, she deflected a few shots back at some of them, using the Force to throw the others away, as well as their guns, jumping away from several shots and zapping the remaining soldiers.

Scaball raised his blaster pistol and targeted the rampaging woman's back. Komand sensed the danger and swiped her sword abruptly, turning around in a split second. The blaster bolt flew back and hit the loyalist's hand. Scaball yelled in pain, dropped his weapon and clutched his wounded arm. Komand glared at the man in front of her and raised her hand. Immediately he started floating in midair, as the Force user was holding him firmly, gripping her sword more tightly. Unarmed crewmen meanwhile sat on their places, fearing to make a move.

"What happened?" Scaball asked.

Komand smirked. "Interdictors, our newest toy. You are not getting out of here. And I have more than enough time to kill you."

She raised her sword and was about to strike, but then the ship shook again. The Outsiders had opened massive fire, launching plasma and high speed rocks. When Komand wasn't able to keep standing, Scaball, surprisingly, managed to get up first and run out of the bridge, Komand got up quickly, and ran after him, but the man locked the door and shot at the panel, not caring that he was locking his own men inside. She started cutting the hole with her lightsaber. He was going to come out only in an iron coffin, cut in several small parts.

Phantom looked down on the holographic table, leaning against it. They couldn't see the enemies, who were fighting on the other side of the planet, so Danny relied on scanners. It didn't look well. He hoped that the loyalists were going to put a fight, but so far they had damaged only a few and destroyed even less. Yes, the outsiders had an element of surprise, maybe they would regroup and start fighting off the attackers. Suddenly the communicator beeped and Phantom pressed the button.

"Thrawn, I trust you got out of there," he said, briefly glancing up at the Chiss' hologram.

"Indeed, but your friend had other plans."

Danny froze. "What do you mean?"

"She took her ship and flew to one of theirs."

Phantom sighed and rubbed his temples, "Should have known. Where exactly did she go?"

"I'm not sure..." Thrawn hummed, before an idea came into his mind. "Ensign, that transmission must have passed through our sensors. Transmit them to His Majesty."

A few moments later the ghost was given a datapad with transmitted information.

"Yes, it's the ship of Gladiator class, apparently," Danny mumbled. "Show me where it is," the Emperor commanded to the officer of his own.

In the hologram of the battlefield one of the ships glowed with red. Phantom hummed.

"Admiral, take command of the fleet and inform me about everything. I'll be back shortly, and don't blow our cover too soon."

At Pillion's nod, Danny disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He came out on the enemy ship's bridge. He raised his eyebrow, there was no one there in a middle of the fight. Then he saw a hole in the door and his shoulders sank.

"Why am I not surprised?" He deadpanned.

Suddenly the ship shook again. Danny glanced out of the window and saw that one of the Outsiders' ships got through the opening in the lines and the flagship just happened to be the only target. Danny sighed, knowing that if 'Gladiator' blows up, he won't have time to find Komand. He had to get rid of that vessel first. It was one of the 'whale' type ships. Grimacing slightly, Phantom teleported inside of it. Just like he expected, the man only saw the spacy and meaty inners. He shivered, that was damn disgusting.

"The intruder!" Danny suddenly heard a yell.

He spun around and saw the Outsider, and it wasn't pleasant. The creature looked humanoid, but more like a human skeleton, wrapped in a rough yellow-purplish skin, skarred and wounded. It had pointy ears, lacked any nose and had two nostrils in its head, like that of a skeleton, its forehead was slopping, almost ridge like. The being was wearing a black spiky armor, which looked like a chitin shell, in its hands was a strange snake-like boney creature, which was slithering around the being's hand.

But it wasn't the appearance what confused Phantom. The Force was everywhere, in every spot of the universe, except it. It was like a hole in a list of paper. Danny couldn't even sense the being.

"Yep. You are as ugly as I expected," Danny said.

The Outsider seemed surprised. "How do you know our language, lesser deity?" He asked menacingly, grabbing the snake creature.

"Wow, that's a new insult. Sorry for coming uninvited, but this ship is about to die."

Phantom pulled his lightsaber in his hand and activated it.

"Not if I have any saying about this. Staff!" He barked.

The snake untied itself and in a split second became straight and solid like a staff. Danny blinked. "Nice pet," he commented.

The Outsider roared and attacked. Phantom raised his sword, and, surprisingly, the snake creature withstood the laser blade. Danny made a few steps back under continuous wave of strikes. Phantom then raised his hand and launched the opponent into the opposite wall. The Outsider jumped back on his feet and roared even louder, before giving command to his staff. Suddenly it spit some liquid at the ghost, but Danny simply became intangible and let the obvious poison or acid to fly through him. Then Phantom jumped and made a stab. To his growing surprise and irritation the armor was impenetrable as well.

The alien grinned and the staff wrapped its tail around Danny's hand, clutching it like anakonda would do to its victim. Phantom yelped and dropped the lightsaber, but then he delivered a kick to the enemy's jaw with his free hand. The Outsider yelped in pain, too. That weakling had a HARD punch. Danny phased off the staff, which by then became a whip, pulled the lightsaber in his hand. Then he saw that the Outsider was approaching, and Phantom got an idea. He ran at the opponent, pretending to begin another slash, but fired an ectogoo in his legs. Of course, the Outsider fell, Danny then used the Force to lock the alien on his place, before pulling his hands behind the back and binding them, too.

"Untie me, you trash!"

Danny kneeled and looked into his black eyes. "Not a chance, bud. I may have a use for you," he pressed a button on his ear communicator. "Admiral, be ready to take an alien into custody, and be careful with him."

Phantom put a finger on the alien and he dissappeared in a cloud of smoke. Danny had decided that he needed more information about them. Now to the destruction of the ship.

Komand looked around different corridors, searching for any sign of Scaball. After several elevators and corridors the man got on a considerable distance. She closed her eyes and reached to her senses. Komand found and ran after him. She encountered a few soldiers on her way, but they were dealt with quickly enough. The Force User found Scaball in another end of the corridor. One wall was occupied by an enormous glass, which gave a good look at the battlefield. Cool, but dangerous and impractical. The less windows the better, after all. Scaball was running to the door, but Komand pulled the man to the ground. The male yuth grunted in pain and fell on a metal surface. Komand approached him.

"Oops, sorry for that," she said, sounding anything but sorry. Her glare could burn a hole in him.

Without even letting the man to say anything, Komand attempted to slash him. But the luck was obviously not on her side. The Outsiders had their own, organic starfighters. The shields were gone, and only the extremely hard armor of the 'Gladiator' class was protecting it. Sadly, the glassteel wasn't as hard. Despite not using the material, the Outsiders knew it was the weakest place in the hull. And on the inside there obviously wasn't any armor. Two fighters, after taking down the loyalists' small ships turned to fire at the flagship. And they just had to pick that same window.

They spit magma rocks and plasma. The glassteel started to crack. Both yuths' eyes widened in horror. But Scaball, noticing that Komand wasn't looking at him, kicked her leg with his and got up. He wasn't going to travel into space. Komand got up, too, and ran after him. Scaball ran behind the door and locked it. Komand roared in anger and started cutting through. Meanwhile the Outsiders came for the second turn. They opened fire again, and this time, the illuminator didn't stand. Several rocks smashed through and melted the insides, and the laws of physics commanded everything to be flushed through the hole into the vacuum. Komand grabbed the metal edge, trying to think up something and quickly.

But she didn't have time. She suddenly fell on the ground and the pull stopped. She blinked.

"I left you alone for a few hours and you already jump into a fight."

Komand looked back and saw Danny standing above her. Phantom gave her a hand, which she took, and helped his lover to get up. Komand glanced to the side and saw that he had made an ectoshield to close the hole.

"Thanks," she mumbled, before turning to the door, activating the lightsaber and continuing to cut the hole.

Danny stared at her. "That's it? Komand, I asked you to be careful, and yet you went to the FLAGSHIP which by default would be the primary target!" He exclaimed.

Komand glared at nothingness, continuing to cut through. Danny growled, clenched his fist and swiped his hand. The thick metal door turned into junk and slid up. Komand kept going through the corridor, much to the ghost's growing irritation.

"Why have you ever done that?" He asked, walking after her.

"I had reasons," Komand responded.

Suddenly she felt someone grabbing her shoulders and turning her around. Komand found herself staring at Danny's bright green orbs.

"Reasons? If not for me, this ship would have been a space debris!"

"What do you expect? A medal?" She asked in irritation, getting out of his grip. "I'm not going out of here without Scaball's head!"

"So that's what all of this is about?"

"Yes, I didn't stand on your way when you took your revenge, now let me get mine!"

Komand didn't let him finish and ran away. Danny was about to go after her, when communicator in his ear started to beep.

"What?" He asked, putting a finger on it.

"My Lord, the loyalists' ships are almost destroyed, the Outsiders lost one fifth of their fleet," the Admiral reported.

"That's less than we anticipated," Danny mumbled. This day just kept getting better. "Can we deal with them?"

"Maybe. The odds are equal, they can keep their surprises, but so can we."

"I strongly suggest that I should take temporary command, Your Highness," Thrawn's voice sounded from the comlink. Apparently, it was a shared transmission.

"Are you saying that I am incompetent?" Pillion asked.

"I've been observing their actions since the beginning of the battle, I saw their tactics, so I will be more experienced. I didn't mean to offend."

Phantom rubbed his chin in thought. Thrawn was right, he was more fitting. And knowing the Chiss, he would minimize the losses to almost none. He was also not interested in blowing up as much Imperial ships as possible, he knew the Empire could build more, but the tension would appear nevertheless.

"Fine, Pillion, inform our fleet, Thrawn is in charge now."

"Understood."

The transmission was over and Danny continued his way. He needed to find Komand before the vessel blew up.

Thrawn's plan was simple. When the loyalists were almost crushed, they started to retreat, retreat to the positions of the Empire. To everyone's surprise, he ordered to shut down the Interdictors' field and commanded half of the fleet to make a microjump on a few light years, far enough to not be seen, but close enough to return in a blink. He explained that to his subordinates, and they stopped complaining. More than that, he moved one of the two Interdictors aside, secludedly. What a tempting bait, and the Outsiders took it.

Komand attacked the loyalists' soldiers, slashed the first and stabbed the second. Poor fellows, they were held between the anvil and the hammer: you either die when the life support shuts down, or die from her white lightsaber. Escape pods made no sense, the planet nearby was inhabitable, and no one was coming to their help. Not to mention the bloodthirsty aliens who will hunt them down. Komand knew that there was only one way to escape - through the hangers and the interceptors. She knew the Gladiator class as the back of her hand, thankfully.

Danny meanwhile ran through the corridors of the shaking cruiser. The aliens decided to let the ship crumble by itself, it's not like it could get away, unlike the rest of the fleet. Phantom continued going through the metal corridors, feeling where his fiesty girlfriend had gone. His ability to go through the walls and fly helped him to get to the point quickly. He exited in the hangers and froze. The Outsiders were first. About thirty of them had landed and were slaughtering the soldiers. Danny could sense the fear of the soldiers hidden behind the crates or in the other hiding places.

Soon the doors opened behind him and Komand ran inside. She stopped abruptly as well when she saw the massacre. Then Komand saw Phantom nearby.

"Should we help them?" Phantom asked.

"Who exactly?" Komand raised her eyebrow. "They are worth each other."

Danny looked at her. His mouth twisted, since she was right. Those people tried to kidnap and maybe torture his small child. But then he came to another thing, it weren't the soldiers who did this, it was their leadership. Danny shared the thought with his lover, and Komand's lips formed a thin line.

"Fine, we will take them down. But I won't stand on their way," she said, turning on the lightsaber.

Phantom just stared at her. Where did such lust for blood came from? Suddenly one of the warriors noticed them and attacked. Danny raised his hand and threw him out of the hanger into the cold space. The yells of a soldier flying through the entire room caught the attention of his comrades. Danny activated his own sword.

"Alright, you strange mix of Tyranids and skeletons, come get someone of your level!" He shouted.

Some of the soldiers peeked from their hiding spots, disbelieving that it was the Emperor himself, the very person they were supposed to destroy. The Outsiders looked at him and decided to attack. Phantom charged the red beam in his hand, hiding it behind his back. Suddenly he fired beneath their feet and ten warriors were blown away by the explosion.

"Ready for a light show?" He asked Komand. The woman understood what he meant and nodded.

Their hands started to crack with green electricity. If in Danny's case it was because of ectoplasm, Komand used a special method invented by her Master. It allowed to use this Dark Side ability without a threat of this same side taking over, because the hatred and anger didn't need to be channeled in such big amounts. And the color was just a side effect. The charge hit them dead on, making the attackers scream in pain and fall. Their chitin armor could protect from the lightsabers and blaster bolts, but the lighting was still their weakness. While Komand remained firing the electricity, as the lighting kept jumping from one enemy to another, Danny stopped and 'charged' a Force Push. They all, even their small transport ship, debris and junk were sent flying. When there was a hole into space, it was a sin to ignore the chance. The Outsiders were as good as dead.

Meanwhile, the space battle against them had begun. When the loyalists unintentionally got the Outsiders into the trap, Thrawn ordered to fire at the pulsating organs of their vessels and to send the fighters in the air. He had previously observed their movements, and found it the same as the vacuum animals, which meant that their movement mechanism was positioned in the same place. How did the fleet reach that weak point? Simple, the strange maneuver was meant to fulfill that same purpose. Thrawn thought up a wonderful sheme, the Interdictors could not only prevent the ships from escaping, but also make the arriving ships come out of hyperspace at the point he wanted, with the centimeter precision.

The Outsiders sent a few irrelevant ships to destroy the secluded Interdictor, but out of nowhere came half of the entire fleet. The Outsiders had no chance, they were obliterated under a rain of turbolaser fire. And the flank was now opened, what was immediately exploited by the Chiss commander. The Imperials opened fire from all batteries at all weak spots in the flesh and rocks, depending on the type of the vessel.

The Imperial fighters were slower and less maneuverable than the opponent's. The firepower was also bigger on their side. However, against each Outsider's fighter were fighting ten Imperial ones. Superiority in numbers made the odds equal. The Outsiders had a few nasty surprises, they could create their own gravitational field, deeming the proton rockets, the most powerful asset of the starfighters, useless. It complicated things.

Through the unstoppable and well coordinated fire Thrawn managed to create an opening. He sent a few Terminuses inside that gap, cutting the enemy's lines into two parts, secluded from each other. One of them was being fired at from two sides, suffering enormous damage. The Outsiders realized their mistake, and tried to get rid of the wall. It was indeed tempting, Terminus class was weaker than Harrower. But in order to destroy them as quick as possible, they had to cease the pressure on another front. Thrawn used it to come even closer, to fire more precisely and destroy even more ships.

The Outsiders blew up some Terminuses, and now they faced the same fate as their enemies. The secluded part of the organic fleet tried to escape through the gap under massive fire. Thrawn was prepared, he suspected that the Outsiders would move tighter to each other, not to mention the loss of half of their fleet, which gave a possibility of encirclement. The Outsiders saw that, and tried to expand in each side, trying to thin the encirclement line, but Thrawn was waiting just for that. He striked at the space between this attacks, and instead of one big encirclement, he got several smaller ones. Now, to clean up the mess.

Phantom noticed that Komand wasn't standing near him anymore. Before he could ask himself where she went, he heard a scream, but not hers. Suddenly he saw that Scaball was thrown like a ragdoll into the center of the hanger, as some of his bones snapped. And all of that happened a few meters away from him. Then Komand herself came into view, with her activated lightsaber glowing in her hand. She glared at the downed man.

"What? Got no other place to run?" She asked, coming closer and kicking Scaball with her leg.

"Why do I need to?" Scaball grinned, showing his teeth, red from blood spewed out lf his throat. "And here I thought that I won. Looks like your house won, girl. Too sad I didn't get to finish everything. If only your Daddy could put such a fight, but no, he died like a rat he was."

That was when Komand finally snapped. Her purple pupils turned red, with yellow trim, as the burning rage overtook her. She roared and slashed her weapon. But was stopped by a transparent blade.

"What are you doing?" She shouted at Phantom.

"Komand, calm down. This won't get you anywhere."

"Oh, look who is speaking! Didn't know you are such a hypocrite," Komand spat. "He murdered my entire family!"

"Need I remind you how I felt after taking revenge?" Danny asked in the same calm tone. "Komand, we need him. I need information. I can't let you kill him now and like this. He will get what he deserves, but you must not be controlled by your hatred for him. And...I'm sorry for your loss, Komy, I know how you feel more than anyone else. But please, listen to me, remove your weapon."

Komand looked from him and on Scaball, as an internal battle raged in her mind. Then her eyes returned to their normal color as she turned off the lightsaber. And with initial rage gone, she was overtaken by another emotion. Komand started to tremble slightly and tears flushed out of her eyes. She hugged Danny and started crying. Phantom was stunned by such an action, but he decided to give as much comfort as possible. He ran a hand through her short hair soothingly.

"Shh, don't worry, Komy, I'm here," he said as she sobbed into his shoulder.

Komand looked briefly at the stark haired man and hugged him even tightly. Because now, Danny was everything she had.

 **A.N. Sorry for taking so long, guys, I was studying so much, starting from the rule of Ivan 'the moneybag' and how to spell, таять or тают. Anyways, hope you liked it.**


	31. Chapter XXXI: The Lost Tribe

Phantom returned to the capital as a triumphant. Even if the laurels of glory should had been given to Thrawn, the Chiss wasn't present, had left to the Ascendancy. But the Emperor wasn't hosting a parade either, it was just happy news announced through every channel. 'The filthy terrorists, who called themselves 'the loyalists' are crushed,' the headlines said. More than that, the threat of alien attack was prevented, Danny's authority as the Emperor-protector was reinforced. The crowd's adoration was just like that - a temporary thing, so Phantom needed to gently remind his people about it. Gently, but not necessarily unnoticeable.

During the battle two last ships surrendered. Not much, there were two hundred Outsiders in total. They were led through the main street of Babylon, which was actually a path from the North Pole to the southern. Of course, it wasn't the entire way, they walked under heavy Stormtroopers' escort a few miles. To say that the populace was terrified by their appearance, was to say nothing. The Outsiders were locked in the prison, separately from the other prisoners. It was impossible to take off their armor, which made them really dangerous.

At the moment Komand was going through the corridors of the palace. It never ceased to annoy her how idiotically huge the Emperor's living place was. Phantom didn't even use three quarters of the building, only cleaning droids visited them. Danny had actually considered making living places there for his future Order, kinda like the Jedi Temple. This topic was talked about a lot, but Phantom didn't have time to actually expand the Order. Of course, Dani will be taught once she reaches the age, but there were three of them. Of course, there was Ahsoka. The girl was staying with them, even ate at one table, but Komand wondered why Danny would keep her under his wing. There was only one option.

She stopped once she heard a laughter behind one of the doors. Chuckling slightly, Komand peeked inside the room. Two girls were obviously drawing something on Danny's face with white crayons. Suddenly he felt a foreign presence. Danny looked at the doorway and saw his snickering girlfriend. She laughed over the very simmetrical paintings, note the sarcasm. The left part of his face was decorated rather nicely with white careful figures, while the right part was filled with different drawings Dani's young imagination came up with.

"You seem to be having fun," Komand commented.

Dani was the first to respond. The girl jumped on her feet and appeared near Komand. "Yep. Wanna join, too, Komy?" She asked.

Komand blushed and now it was Danny's turn to laugh. "Uhm, I'm not sure..."

Dani pouted, but luckily didn't insist. Komand sighed mentally in relief. "So, what's all of this about?"

"I call it a cultural exchange," Danny answered in all seriousness.

Ahsoka snickered. It was one way of calling things. Phantom looked at the clocks and his eyes widened.

"I didn't know so much time passed," he said. "Don't you mind if I clean my face?" The man asked, causing two girls to pout. "Hey, I promise we will do it later today. Promise. I just have some work to do."

"Alright/Okaay," the girls said sadly.

"Stay with them, Komy, alright?" Danny asked on his way out of the room.

"Is this a part of my post duties?" Komand responded teasingly and chuckled. "Just go already."

"Wait, can I go with you?" Ahsoka suddenly asked.

Danny blinked. "Uhm, I'm not exactly sure about it..."

"Please, I won't be a bother," the girl begged.

The young man sighed. "Very well. But first let me wash out all of this."

Ahsoka grinned and they left the place. After washing his face Danny teleported them both to the moon of the capital. Its purpose was...questionable. The moon was rich in resources, and the criminals were also kept there. Why not make the latter dig out the resources? A simple, maybe not so humane solution. But the prisoners couldn't be called humane either, so it was fine for the ghost. Stalin created a powerful industry in less than twenty years not because he pitied every living being. And something told Danny that he had even less time, while having a much bigger state.

Reappearing in the overseer's office, they scared the hell out of the old man. The aged puigian grabbed his chest and panted. He had a short white beard, light brown skin, four fingered hands, a pair of short horns from the forehead, as well as a few blue spots on the nose and cheeks.

Their planet was taken over recently, with a little to no bloodshed. The folks were quite peaceful, and once they were promised coexistence and autonomy from the Imperial ambassador, most of the tribes, or whatever they had for goverment agreed to join. A few provocative actions led to several deaths, and not only the locals', but the diplomatical scandal was avoided. One of the reasons for such willingness probably was because of someone they called 'The Garla'. They were out of the Emperor's concerns list at the moment, but he did set up the observation posts.

"Your Highness, please, don't do that again," the old man said.

Phantom raised his eyebrow. "I thought that HK has informed you about my visit."

"Yes, but I didn't know it was now and that you would come straight to my office."

Danny hummed. "I apologize, but my shedule is tight. No time for transportation and service rituals."

The old man nodded and took some pills, before noticing Ahsoka. "Uhm, who is this girl?"

Danny patted the girl on a shoulder, causing her to blush. "I'm taking care of her for a few weeks. No need to concern yourself."

"Alright, follow me, sir, I'll show you the way. But, are you sure this is a place for a child?"

"No, but something tells me that it isn't something out of ordinary."

"Yep. Still better than meditating," Ahsoka added.

Phantom wondered about the appointment of a man with such weak nerves. It was a question which should had been asked to the capital governor. Apparently, he took his words about 'soft violence' too seriously. It was a method of prisoners' exploitation, when they got rather nice living conditions during the breaks: holonet, edible food, etc. The differences from low paid workers was that the prisoners weren't paid at all, they worked for the roof and food. Also, their work was back breaking, and one of the mines was meant for excavating radioactive minerals, what was not good for health at all.

On his way they met one certain droid standing near one of the walls.

"Greeting: Good day, Master, I was just heading for interrogation."

"Hello, HK," Danny smiled. "I was going there, too," his look then grew serious. "You have questioned the others, I presume?"

"Exclamation: How am I supposed to do that if they all are damn masochists, who don't even know our language?!" HK complained loudly in annoyance. "Report: No one has broken. I feel insulted."

Danny raised his eyebrow, but didn't say anything. Ahsoka was wondering what exactly the droid did.

The Emperor's guide stopped near a door. One of the guards pressed a code on the panel and the door slid open. The overseer didn't have a courage to enter, only Danny did, ordering HK and Ahsoka to stay outside. It was a small room, with only one table and two chairs, both of which were empty. Rolling his eyes, Phantom prepared for an obvious move. He raised his hand and apprehended the punch, before throwing the Outsider in the other end of the room.

"It is not very nice," Danny commented, wiping his black clothes.

The alien growled at him. "Stop talking with me like that, wimp!"

"Oh, you mean the wimp who has beaten you?" Danny raised an eyebrow with a deadpan expression. "Take a seat."

Phantom sat on a chair himself, not showing any sign of concern. The Outsider glared at him, but pulled the chair from under the table harshly and sat on it. Danny smiled innocently.

"Now, your name, please."

He received no answer. Phantom sighed. "You may not fear death or pain, but surely you won't like to stay here for a long time. I can wait, however."

The alien looked at him angrily. "Mor Aran, the warrior in the twenty second generation."

Danny whistled. "That's a big heritage."

"Who are you?" Mor asked.

"Daniel Phantom, the ruler of the Empire that has defeated you."

Surprisingly, the alien burst into laughter, throwing his head back. "What's so funny?" Danny asked.

"You think that you have beated us, naive fool," the laughter reduced to chuckle.

"There were others?"

"No, not with us. But there is a thing, we are only a scouting team."

Danny froze. Now that he thought about it, there weren't any ships they were protecting, like the Vagaari. No madman would send a ship full of women and kids, if not because of kindness, but because they would be useless.

"How many of you are there?" Phantom asked.

"'There'? You have to be more specific," Mor smirked toothily.

Alright, that bastard was trying to get under the young man's skin. Danny remained calm on the outside. "You know where, just tell me."

"There is no one in the Galaxy except us."

"So, the rest is yet to arrive. How. Many."

The alien leaned back in his seat. "Like hell I will tell you."

Suddenly he found a transparent lightsaber at his throat. It happened that quickly. Phantom's hair started to flow as the eyes glowed brighter.

"I'm growing impatient," he growled even more ferociously than the alien could manage.

Mor barked a laugh. "I'm not afraid of pain and death, remember? Pain makes us stronger and the death frees us."

"Then go jump into the open space. Maybe you aren't afraid, but losing a limb is obviously not in your interests."

"Please, your pathetic toy of light and metal is nothing compared to Vonduun crab armor."

"Maybe I can't cut through," Danny turned off the lightsaber. "But everything can be broken."

And just as he said this, they both heard cracking sounds. The armor on the alien's left hand started to clench under the pressure of the Force. Before Mor could react, it broke in several places and pierced his hand. He screamed in pain as the jet black blood leaked through the holes. Danny raised his eyebrow, but didn't stop as his look turned cold. Phantom was sitting cross legged on his chair, like if his captive's suffering wasn't his doing.

The screams of pain were heard even outside. Ahsoka's eyes widened as she looked at HK.

"What's he doing?" She asked.

"Answer: Torture, what else? I wonder if Master manages to make him talk."

"But...he can't be doing that, he is too...kind."

"Statement: His moral compass keeps pleasantly surprising me. But yes, he is too soft, unless you provoke him, which is hard by default. That meatbag thrown into black hole witnessed what he is like when someone harms his little...child."

Ahsoka was silent.

"If I continue, no one will be able to fix the damage and you will lose your hand. Are you going to talk now?" Phantom asked.

Mor, who by then was lying on the floor, looked up at him. "Yes, I will!"

Danny smiled. "Good!" He said cheerfully, stopping the torture.

Panting and clutching his wounded arm, the alien sat back on a chair. He looked scornfully at the white haired man in front of him, but said nothing.

"Now, let's start from the beginning. I want to know about your race."

They were called the Yuuzhan Vong. Their race were nomads ever since they ruined their homeworld. Not intentionally, maybe, but a fact was the fact. Their living and sentient planet was the 'person' to teach their race the organic techs. It was the only way to survive for the race, caught in a middle of the war between two droid races: Abominor and Silentium. The Yuuzhan Vong not only survived, but emerged victorious, gaining an immense hatred for everything mechanical. But it didn't end there, the aliens started their Crusade against other races, destroying the entire Galaxy in the process.

Their journey on giant world ships had been going for thousands of years. The fleet the Empire destroyed was just a part of scouting team. But there were also different spies across the Galaxy, they were learning, preparing to exploit weak points when the war breaks out. By the words of Mor, the Vong had the power to take over every planet and country in the Galaxy at the same time. They were growing more and more ships as they were traveling through the Extragalactic Void.

All his words were recorded, and Danny was growing more concerned. Finally, the interrogation was over and Danny left the room, ordering the guards to move Mor back to his cell. Phantom wasn't stupid. Mor also told him about their customs, and the surrender looked too unusual for an honor-bound race. It could be only because of one thing - they were spies, waiting for the main forces to arrive. But they won't make it out alive. It was either them or the entire Galaxy.

Danny exited the room and looked down at Ahsoka, who was staring at him. He smiled softly. "Let's go now."

The girl walked forawrd and Phantom stayed behind.

"Don't let them make a single step outside," he whispered to HK. "Shoot them on sight if they try to escape."

HK nodded, singing internally.

The entire armada will come. Mor told Danny that the Vong would arrive in sixty years, but Phantom didn't plan on trusting the alien. He could be lying in order to give a false sense of security. It only strengthened the Emperor's confidence in his ambition. Only united the Galaxy will be able to stand against the invaders, and it will be united under Imperial crimson banner. Until the invasion, however, not a word will leave the building. Only Komand and the most important members of the Council needed to know that. But if what Mor was saying was truth, then most of the members won't live to that date. All hopes were on the Star Forge.

Nevertheless, Danny recalled what he needed to do next. But then he looked at Ahsoka again, who was still quiet. Then it hit him why.

"You heard everything, didn't you?" He asked calmly.

"Eh...no?"

Phantom sighed. "I don't like when someone lies to me, Ahsoka," he said in the same calm voice.

"Alright, I did. Why did you hurt him? It isn't right to torture people."

Danny's lips formed a thin line. Poor girl, she was too naive, just like Dani. And if in case of his daughter Phantom, just like any parent, wanted to protect her innocence, in Ahsoka's case he wanted to prepare her as much as he could for the harsh reality. Because there was a little hope for the Jedi to do that.

"I never claimed it was right, Ahsoka. Sometimes rulers have to make decisions which go against the morals. And between the bloodthirsty invaders and my people I will always choose the latter. I learnt a lot, and it would help to protect them and protect the ones close to me. Rulers do what is best, not what is right."

Ahsoka was left to her thoughts, and there was a lot to consider.

The silence was disrupted when his communicator beeped. Raising his eyebrow, Danny pressed a button of holocom. To his bewilderment, one familiar Chiss was present there.

"Commander Thrawn, what do I owe a pleasure?" Phantom asked, snapping out of his surprise.

"Well, not a commander anymore," Thrawn mumbled. "May we arrange a meeting? Private one."

Danny rubbed his chin. "Hm, fine. Where can I find you?"

"I'll send you the coordinates."

"Wait, how did you get my number?"

The transmission was over. Danny's shoulders sank as the communicator beeped again. The small circle, which served both as holoprojector and the screen, showed him the coordinates of the planet. Why planet? Because there were also degrees of latitude and longitude. After giving a brief look Danny understood that the planet was on the North-Western edge of the Empire. When he knew only the coordinates, it was better to make a portal.

"You coming?" Phantom asked. Ahsoka snapped out of her observations and nodded, following the man inside.

They came out in a forest, the one which you can usually see for example in Canada or Finland. Pine trees, oaks, or at least something resembling them. Danny looked around and saw a campfire on a distance. Walking a few meters forward, Ahsoka sensed something.

"Do you feel it?" She asked her temporary guardian.

"The presence of the Dark Side? Yep. I wonder why, it doesn't appear from nowhere."

Soon they were greeted by an unusual sight. Never Danny actually pictured Thrawn to fry some animal over the fire in a middle of the forest. The Chiss noticed his presence and looked at them with his red pupiless eyes.

"You are quick," he commented.

"I'm trying...what are you doing here?" Phantom asked, sitting on the nearest tree stamp.

Thrawn sighed, not caring about the girl near him. "Sometimes my skills of perception disappoint me."

"They don't work?" Ahsoka asked.

"They work too perfectly. I knew that after our mission I would get disowned for too many reprimands. That's precisely what happened, and I was exiled to the planet of my choosing. I took this one because of how close it was to the nearest Imperial transmission station. My brother managed to leave me a communicator, and I already knew your personal number ever since we fought together. I knew that I would need it one day."

"Yeah, the Emperor's Hotline at your service," Danny deadpanned, making Ahsoka giggle. "I'm sorry that it happened like that."

"Do not be, it was my decision and I knew what consequences it would lead to."

"Then why did you do that?"

"I don't need my people's content to protect them. The Outsiders were a threat, and I had to act."

"And why call me of all people?"

Thrawn was silent at first, trying to pick proper words. "So far you haven't broken the treaty we made one year ago. Moreover, you destroyed what could threaten my home. I'm ready to join the ranks of the Imperial Navy, on a few conditions."

Danny's eyes widened in shock. Did he hear the Chiss correctly? It could be some kind of trick, but no, he could sense that Thrawn wasn't lying.

"What kind of conditions?"

"I'm doing this as long as no harm comes to the Ascendancy from you. And, of course, I need the right to attack first."

Ah, so that's what all of this wass about. It was an unusual way of trading his undoubtedly extraordinary skills for his nation's safety.

Phantom chuckled. "I'm your only way of getting out of here and YOU are giving me the conditions? Alright, I agree to this request. But, when you plan to attack, it better be reasonable when you report to me."

"I see no problem in it," Thrawn nodded.

Suddenly Phantom perked up. "Get down!"

Both men lowered their heads and Ahsoka jumped away as several blaster bolts passed them. When they looked up, Danny's eyes widened in shock. It was a group of aliens, dressed in several golden armor plates. They had crimson red skin and yellow glowing eyes, covered by cartilaginous eyebrow-stalks. They had several bone spurs coming from their elbows and other parts. Their faces displayed pairs of tendrils that hung down from their high cheeks. In their hands they carried primitive blasters about four thousand years old, while some wielded two handed hammers.

The group got behind the thick tree under a rain of fire.

"The Sith! Of all people it should be the Sith!" Danny complained. "Do you have any weapons?"

"I have my lightsaber," Ahsoka said, taking it out.

"None," Thrawn added.

Suddenly one of the savages jumped around the tree, but Thrawn hit the alien with his elbow, then striked down on the opponent's. The alien yelped in pain and loosened the hold on his blaster. The Chiss grabbed it and fired in the enemy's chest. Danny and Ahsoka blinked.

"Now I have," Thrawn responded, pointing the blaster at them. "Step aside, please."

They did as he said and the Chiss fired at the other Sith who got behind the tree. Danny looked at his ward. Ahsoka was about to turn on her weapon, but the ghost stopped her.

"Oh no, you are not ready, Ahsoka."

"I am!" She argued. "Behind you!"

Danny then saw the enemy swinging his hammer. In a split second Phantom activated his lightsaber and blocked the strike. The hammer deflected the lazer blade, making Phantom grunt in annoyance. He threw the enemy into the tree by using the Force, before stabbing him. Surprisingly, the others stopped their attack abruptly, starting whispering among each other. And Danny caught a word 'sorcerer'. Oh, no, not that stuff again. One of the Sith, who looked more humanoid than his comrades, stepped forward and bowed.

"Please, follow us, our lord might wish to see you."

"Oh, so now he is asking," Danny grumbled, while Thrawn and Ahsoka didn't understand a word. "He requested so we follow them."

"Are you sure we can trust that..."

"Sith?" The girl finished after Thrawn.

Phantom glanced at them. "No, we cannot, but I'd like not to miss the opportunity. We can get out by a snap of my fingers, remember?" Danny looked at their opponents. "Fine. Lead the way."

And so they went forward after the warriors. Danny was as calm as stone, however his inner scientist was just as excited as when he found the Rakata. Ahsoka was seemingly uncomfortable, and Phantom sensed as much. His hand on her shoulder did a lot to reassure her. Thrawn, on the other hand, kept observing the Sith not because they gave a scientific interest, but because he tried to determine their weaknesses. So far he noticed that most of them were left handed. It was probably a coincidence, but if it was not, he could exploit this uniqueness, which was both strength and weakness.

"Danny, can I ask you something?" Ahsoka asked.

"Go ahead."

"These people looked afraid when you used the Force, why do you call them the Sith?"

"Because 'the Sith' is a term used wrongly. The reason for that is that in times of the Old Republic most of the Dark Side users were descendants of the exiled Dark Jedi interbred with the pureblooded Sith. This ones seem to be...more natural, probably they retained their blood. Amazing scientific discovery, I thought they were killed off."

"By whom?" Thrawn asked.

"Well, after the Great Hyperspace war there was a genocide orchestrated by the Republic and the Jedi."

"A what?!" Ahsoka exclaimed.

Danny looked at her, as the warriors around them gave glances.

"Weren't you taught about that little episode?" He asked. "Yes, genocide. The Republic feared that the Sith would attack them again, so they slaughtered almost everyone. The survivors left and later founded another Sith Empire under Vitiate's rule. And the Jedi were the ones to execute and support this decision of the Senate. Who knows, maybe this decision indeed saved many lives of Republican citizens, but it doesn't quite add up with the image of kindness. Do you see now what I meant, Ahsoka?"

"Rulers do what is best, not what is right," she mumbled, the Emperor's words became clearer to her.

They were led towards the city. Despite being crudely built, it looked advanced enough. The entire atmosphere, not counting their advanced more or less techs, reminded him of Indian cities in Middle America. All those pyramidal structures, higher than other stone buildings, created a certain atmosphere. Needless to say that the group received confused looks from the people. The city was big and the population counted probably a few hundred thousand people. They were led towards a stone palace, into the obvious throne room.

On the throne was sitting another Sith, with the very long tendrils and eyebrow stalks. He wore the full set of gold-like armor, with a golden helmet/crown on his head. And by what Danny sensed, the guy was the Force sensitive, not a rare occasion among their race.

"Who are you?" The Sith asked.

Phantom stepped forward, the white cape on his shoulders flowing in a majestic fashion. "I'm Phantom, the protector and ruler of the New Sith Empire."

Finally, the trick with names would come into play. Some of the Sith shifted nervously, while their obvious leader laughed.

"Quite a self-esteem. You are nothing but a child compared to me, Naga Sadow, the Dark Lord of..."

Danny wasn't scared. He was ready to fall down on the floor from laughter. Every eye was turned to him, claiming him a madman.

"What's so funny?" The ruler growled.

"Yeah, and I am Queen of England. Pal, I don't know who you are, but Naga Sadow kinda died five thousand years ago. Doesn't quite add up."

"I have resurrected, you fool."

"Ah, and how did you do that?"

'Naga Sadow' didn't answer immediately. "This is a hidden information. Do you think I'll share this knowledge with some upstart?!"

"Why do I need it, I'm immortal already," Danny said dryly.

The Dark Lord growled. "You little liar!"

He rose from his throne and threw a lighting. Phantom lazily raised his hand, caught the electricity and redirected it into the Sith's crown, hitting it off his head.

"You are not Naga Sadow, admit it. I am the true Emperor. But, I may give you a chance to prove it," he said in a strange calm and soothing voice.

The Sith glared at him. "I don't need to prove anything to you, brat!"

A grin slowly crawled on Danny's face. No one present liked it at all. Someone even shivered.

"Maybe you are right. But I sense doubt in your men, I think they need some proofs, too. If you are indeed who you claim to be, you will defeat me in battle. If not, your people will serve the Empire and me."

Thrawn was impressed by the man's quick thinking. Phantom could probably get the entire planet in his disposal in a few minutes. If he wins, of what the Chiss had a few doubts.

The Sith snorted. "I have already proven my power."

"And I have challenged your position. Are you backing down? This is not an attitude of the Sith Lord."

The ruler hummed. Yes, if he backs down than he will lose his people's respect. Phantom had got him cornered. "We can arrange the fight. We will meet at the arena in two hours. Until then, begone from my eyes."

Danny smirked.

For a set amount of time the group waited in a special preparation room. Phantom had been meditating for about an hour, in order to gain strength. Even if he was confident in his power, being overconfident was foolish. At the moment Danny was stretching his muscles, while two other members of the group sat nearby.

"Jeez, never thought that I will fight in an alien Coliseum," Phantom chukled.

"What is a Coliseum?" Ahsoka asked curiously.

"Oh, the most famous arena for gladiator fights. Built during the reign of the Roman Empire, following their main motto - Meal'n'real."

Thrawn leaned forward on his seat. "Do you have any plans for a fight?" He asked.

"Yep. I fight and win."

"Well, in case your genius plan goes wrong, I recommend to strike at his right part. He is most likely left handed. And their weapons are based off this trait, and the right part isn't protected enough by default, while the left, in which you undoubtedly will strike is the most guarded part."

Danny nodded and smirked. "Will do, Admiral Thrawn."

The Chiss blinked. He held a rank of Commander in his fleet, why did...Once Thrawn realized what Phantom meant, he looked up at his now superior. Suddenly the announcer spoke loudly in a booming voice, telling that the battle shall begin.

Phantom entered the stage under loud cheers of the crowd wishing for blood to be spilled. Ah, technologies didn't make the savages more civilized in cultural aspect. Living on a secluded planet didn't help either. Danny stood on a sand and stomped his foot in expectation. His opponent didn't seem to hurry. Then the announcer spoke and Phantom didn't like what he heard.

"And in the opposite end we have the most ferocious animal of our planet! The mighty nexu!"

The gates in another end slid open and a creature jumped out from there. It was a feline predator with razor sharp teeth in several rows, a long skinny tail which added a few meters to its length, and four red eyes. Phantom gripped his lightsaber tighter in anger.

"What's the meaning of this?!" He shouted.

Everything became more quiet. People were surprised he could speak so loudly.

"I gave it more thought."

Danny, as everyone else, looked at the Sith Lord, who was sitting on his position.

"First you have to prove that you are worthy of fighting me," he said.

Before Danny could add anything, the predator lunged at him. Danny lowered his head, turned on his lightsaber and stabbed the beast's stomach, which was above him. Phantom threw the corpse a few steps away from him, wiping his mouth. The crowd booed because of how fast the show was over. Phantom's hair started to flow and his eyes glowed brighter.

"Aren't you entertained?!" He shouted. "Aren't you entertained? Thank your coward for a leader, who is too afraid of facing me alone!"

The Sith only looked back and whispered something to a soldier near him. Danny glared at him, before seeing a huge rock nearby. Maybe that could...encourage the ruler to come down. Phantom raised his hand and the rock was raised in the air. With a swing it flew at the tribune. The Sith Lord noticed that and jumped out of the way. The rock crushed the sitting place. The ruler looked at the ghost down on the arena.

"I don't have all day, so would you kindly to move your Majestic ass down here?" Phantom asked.

His opponent just turned away and walked off. Suddenly he was lifted in the air and thrown back, landing on the arena. He looked up and saw Phantom standing above him. Danny didn't plan on breaking any bones. Yet. So he made the landing rather soft. A weapon was dropped near the fallen Sith Lord as Phantom made a few steps back.

"You little..."

The Sith took the sword in his left hand and ran at Danny. Phantom only sidestepped and swung his lightsaber. His enemy blocked the hit and pushed Danny a few steps back. They started a duel on swords, swinging and slashing without much success. The Sith obviously knew about his weakness and tried to turn it into a trap. But Danny made his own trap. After several swings, the ghost left an opening. The Sith stabbed Danny straight at his chest. The Dark Lord smirked and Danny's lightsaber was turned off, but then he noticed that Phantom didn't show any sign of discomfort, before feeling something pressed against his own chest.

It was the deactivated lightsaber. With a smirk of his own, Danny pressed the activation button. The laser pierced through his opponent. The crowd gasped, and Thrawn covered Ahsoka's eyes with his palm. Phantom stood firmly on his legs, while the Sith kept sliding down, not being able to stand.

"How?" He croaked, gripping the edge of Danny's dark clothes.

"I have only one organ, besides, I can make a gap specifically for the sword," Phantom whispered, lowering his head.

The Sith finally fell on the sand. Danny calmly took out the metal blade out of his chest, earning multiple gasps. He turned to the people on the tribunes.

"It seems that your leader isn't as tough as he claimed to be. I don't know how such a pathetic being came to lead a race such as yours. I don't know for how long you have been staying here, I don't know anything about your past on this planet. But I have decided to come here because I know your future. For too long you have been staying here, forced to hide from the Republic and its lapdogs. I, the leader of the Empire came here to free you from the bounds put on you, the Sith shall rise from shadows once again under the same banner as before. The Sith have a glorious past, and if you follow me, even glorious future!" Phantom shouted, raising his lightsaber.

The crowd roared in support. Of course they would, no one wanted to anger the god in front of them.

One hour later Danny was proclaimed the Sith Lord. Phantom summoned the part of his fleet and the First Legion to bring everything under his control. They were on their way. That was the opportunity Danny had been waiting for. The Force wielding Sith were the perfect candidates of his new order. He just needed to teach them the Light side. It was quite a quest indeed.

At the moment Danny was standing on the balcony of the stone palace. He felt a foreign presence behind him and looked back. Ahsoka was standing there, looking really nervous. Danny smiled in reassurance.

"Hey there, Ahsoka. Do you need something?"

"What? Oh, ehm, yes," she rambled, before blushing in embarrasment, sitting near him. "I just wanted to say...eighteen days have passed."

So it was the conversation Phantom was expecting the most. Danny sighed.

"You want to come back to the Jedi?" He asked a rhetoric question.

"I didn't mean to offend," Ahsoka said quickly. "It was wonderful staying here with you, guys."

Danny chuckled. "Dani seems to think so, too. Did you know that she called you a sister once?"

"It was just a slip."

"Sometimes slips mean more than actual words. You have been really unseparable."

"I know..." Ahsoka said sadly, hugging her knees. "I will miss her a lot. I'll miss all of you."

"Well, I'm glad to know that," Danny smirked, giving her a one handed hug. "We all will miss you, too. Tell me, if you stand in front of the Jedi Council and they ask about me, what will you tell them?"

The girl looked on a distance in thought. "Well...you are weird."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, I don't understand why you are doing this. You talk about peace, but everything I have seen so far are conflicts."

"My people have such a phrase, 'If you want peace - prepare for war'. My logic is quite simple, there won't be any wars if there will be no opponents. I do want people to live happily, but my Empire lies in a dangerous place. We are surrounded by enemies, and until I destroy them all there won't be any peace whatsoever. Have I answered your question?"

Ahsoka nodded, before shivering. Seeing this, Danny picked the edge of his cape and wrapped it around the girl. She smiled in appreciation.

"You know, I've got a crazy thought," Phantom said, looking on a distance. Ahsoka looked up at him. "It isn't of any bother if you...stay here, you know."

The girl's eyes were ready to bulge out. "What?" She whispered.

"You yourself said that the definition of family is very loose within the Jedi Order. But think about it, the Jedi take children from their parents, sometimes even forcibly, the babies never ever get to see them, and what that kids get in exchange? How can a person, which denies all emotions because of fear of them, show the true care for you or anyone else?"

"B-but I can't...what would they think about me if I just leave?"

"Nothing. They think you are dead, remember? Ahsoka, look. I just want best for you, and I know that the Jedi are not the best way."

"But why? You know me only for two weeks."

"Maybe so," Danny shrugged in his nonchalant style. "But I, like no one else, can sympathize you. If not for my sister, I would have turned into an evil Dark Lord. I know how much a person may need guidance and someone to care about them. But this is up to you to decide, of course, I'm not going to force you to stay. The decision is all yours."

Ahsoka was silent and touched with his words. She heavily contemplated the offer. Yes, Phantom, Komand and Dani showed her more care than she had received in the order for seven years. But she couldn't just leave everything behind...or could she?

"I...I agree."


	32. Chapter XXXII: Four years of the Empire

"In days gone by there was a King who had three sons. When his sons came of age the King called them to him and said, "My dear lads, I want you to get married so that I may see your little ones, my grand-children, before I die."

Komand stopped near the nursery at hearing her lover's voice inside. Curious, the young yuth peeked inside and couldn't resist the smile coming up her face. Dani and Ashoka were lying together on the bed, half hidden under covers, with curious and eager expressions on their faces. Danny was sitting nearby on the same bed, with a small lamp lighting the book in his gloved hands. So it was a usual evening of fairy tales before sleep. Komand leaned against the wall, yet unnoticed by the family, enjoying the adorable scene.

"And his sons replied," Danny continued. "Very well, Father, give us your blessing. Who do you want us to marry?"

"Each of you must take an arrow, go out into the green meadow and shoot it. Where the arrows fall, there shall your destiny be."

"So the sons bowed to their father, and each of them took an arrow and went out into the green meadow, where they drew their bows and let fly their arrows.The arrow of the eldest son fell in the courtyard of a nobleman, and the nobleman's daughter picked it up. The arrow of the middle son fell in the yard of a merchant, and the merchant's daughter picked it up. But the arrow of the youngest son, Prince Ivan, flew up and away he knew not where. He walked on and on in search of it, and at last he came to a marsh, where what should he see but a frog sitting on a leaf with the arrow in its mouth. Prince Ivan said to it, "Frog, give me back my arrow."

"And the frog replied, "Marry me!"

"How can I marry a frog?"

"Marry me, for it is your destiny."

"What's a frog?" Dani suddenly asked innocently.

It felt weird for the oldest Phantom that his daughter wasn't aware about the simplest things he himself knew from childhood. But yes, the little princess was growing up on completely different planet, and even if they had an entire park nearby, she obviously couldn't see even a simple pigeon or this same frog. It wasn't bad or good, it was just...different. They would have to visit Terra one of those day. Incognito, of course, how would they do that, though?

"A nasty Terran amphibian," Danny answered.

The girls 'ewed' and giggled at the poor prince's unluck. Komand chuckled and gave up her presence. Danny glanced to the side and smiled.

"Oh my, look who is here! Came for fairy tales, Komy?" He asked teasingly.

"No, I just like to see how you are telling them," she smiled as well.

Komand sat nearby, put her head on Danny's shoulder and kissed his cheek. The nineteen years old man coughed and went on to the story.

"Prince Ivan picked up the frog and brought it home..."

In the same eager tone Danny read the story to an end, as his listeners fell in a blissful sleep. Phantom quietly closed the book and looked at the sleeping girls lovingly. It felt wonderful to have a family again, and he would have it no other way. Putting the book away, Danny carefully picked up his lover bridal style and carried her to their now shared room, thankfully it was no effort at all. Once they were in the bedroom, Phantom put Komand on the Emperor-sized bed. He would have joined her, but what could he do, duty called.

It was a strange dissonance, one minute he was telling a night story to his children, and then he got to the frontline on one of the planets. Just a usual day of his afterlife, but he would have it no other way.

-Time skip-

Je'daii Order was completely recreated in two years. Several recruiters travelled across the entire Empire and even beyond, searching for the Force Users. Yes, there were two thousand sensitive Sith in service of the Emperor, but it wasn't enough. In total, there were six thousand of who was called 'The Imperial Paladins'. Phantom had created a certain system of recruit rotation in order to train as many as possible in a short amount of time. Nothing out of ordinary, actually, train first hundred, each will train own hundred, and it shall be done.

Yes, not everyone was extremely capable, and learning everything in half of the year was impossible. But even the average Force User was capable of beating the division. That's exactly what Phantom wanted, to put at least one knight for the division, of which the legions were composed. There were ten thousand Jedi at the very least, and even if Phantom seeked to avoid confrontation, it was obvious that the Order would side with the Republic when the war breaks out.

Komand took the role of a trainer as well, after Danny's constant requests/begging. And the trainees prayed to whatever gods they believed in, someone actually prayed to the Emperor. And this same person was passing the training ground, behind the trees and together with his birth and surrogate daughters. They peeked from their place to the training, seeing the shaking students of different ages, from eighteen to forty five, approximately.

"No, not like that, how many times do I have to tell you?!" Komand shouted.

The family flinched in surprise. Danny heard a low whisper. "She is a demon," someone said in fear.

Komand's head snapped in that direction. "What did you just say?!"

"Daddy, I'm scared," Dani clenched her father's leg.

"I know, dear, I am, too," Phantom responded, petting his daughter.

Ahsoka was thankful that Danny was the one to teach her. And that he didn't demand from her an immediate progress, nor it was needed.

Later that day the War Council meeting was adjourned. While the High Council was partially responsible for declaring wars and accepting surrender, the War Council's responsibility was waging it. The last free state of the Western Galaxy, except for the Chiss Ascendancy, was about to fall before the might of the Imperial forces. Phantom crossed his legs and leaned forward, listening to the Lord General's report, since the man was an equivalent of Minister of Defence.

The whole meeting was held on the new flagship of the Imperial monarch, the pride of its Navy. It held the same name as its predecessor, but was completely different. Hyperion was now a fifteen kilometers long, dagger shaped dreadnought, with a vertical structure under its very nose. The ship type in general was named 'Augustus'. It had over five thousands turbolasers, multiple ion cannons, a thousand of ectoplasmic batteries, over twenty hangers, not to mention numerous smaller laser cannons. It was a sight to behold and so far it was the most powerful ship the Empire could offer.

"The attack on Daibazaal has begun just in time," Haseas said. "However, the locals are putting quite a fight. Our losses are bigger than we have anticipated. Thanks to the efforts of the admiral Thrawn," The man nodded towards the Chiss hologram, who nodded in response. "The reinforcements won't be helping them."

"Yes," Thrawn added. "We put the Interdictors on the way of their transportation fleets and destroyed them."

Haseas continued. "I'd also like to note several things. This is the first battle where the Imperial Paladins fight alongside with our troops. Quite effective, they are, we manage to beat our opponents, despite the fact that they have the Force Users of their own...Druids, I think. Also, we are concerned about the Sith among our ranks. No, they are capable and loyal warriors, but they tend to become too excited, fierce and uncontrollable, even more than our more...animalistic comrades."

"Should have known," Danny mumbled.

"My Lord."

Phantom turned in direction of the voice. There was a hologram of the Sith, who wore the golden armor and helmet, was quite muscular. Danny gestured for the man to continue, and he bowed slightly.

"My people are following the prophecy we received thousands of years ago. It was said, that we must follow the chosen one, and die for the greater cause. Because by deaths of our warriors, the rest of our race will achieve greatness. As long as we serve you, we are ready to die for the Empire."

What a touching speech. Phantom was intrigued by that prophecy, and even if he was the wrong person, Danny wasn't about to lose the opportunity of using the skillful warriors. Phantom looked back at Haseas and urged the man to continue.

"Several worlds have already fallen into our hands, as you remember. Their most important trade routs are disrupted, for a few minor exceptions. Our banks, as you have ordered, were forbidden to have any business with the Galra, and they are unable to take any loans. Our situation isn't really better, however. We already had to pause our...secret projects. If the war goes any longer, we will have to cut our health care, education and other institutions. Our enemies had to do that already, soon they will be eating the last piece of bread. Still, I'm afraid that we won't be able to get further into their territory."

Danny hummed and put a hand on his chin. "Has their ruler asked for peace or we have to extend an olive branch?"

"Not yet, Your Highness. Do you want us to inform them about our willingness to negotiate?"

"I'll meet with their...King or what?" No one answered. "Seriously? We don't even know the rank of the guy in charge?" Danny sighed.

"It wasn't the priority, Your Highness."

"Anyways, I'll meet him personally if needed. And throw the branch into his face."

Someone snorted.

"It shall be done, sir."

"Until then, keep fighting. The more we conquer, the more demanding we can be."

First terms of peace negotiations often lead to nothing, but not in this case. Unaware about the Empire's economical problems, caused by their resistance, the Galra were ready to end the war. Phantom wasn't happy. Yes, it was a victory, but a Pyrrhic one. The Empire's reputation as an unbeatable force remained unshaken, but the Emperor knew better. If it stumbled against a small state, what could he do with the Republic, a superpower taking almost half of the Galaxy? His hopes were on the Star Forge, the boiling situation within the state and its corruption.

Nevertheless, the peace treaty was signed. The last free state of the Western Galaxy, save the isolationist Chiss, fell and became the Imperial province. However, unlike many other states, the Galra saved their ruling dynasty in charge, despite how Phantom was innerly against it. They also appointed Moffs of their own, thankfully not the Grand Moff. They could rally back behind their leader and the Emperor would get a problem on his hands. The monarch himself seemed like a nice fellow, though, even if in his eyes Phantom only brought destruction and deaths.

"Dear citizens of the Empire," the Emperor's speech ran across the Holonet. "This day will be written down in history. Never before was the Western Galaxy united under one banner, and it brings me joy to know that this banner belongs to our great state. All of this wouldn't have been possible without the struggle of our soldiers and the tireless effort of our workers who built all our weapons and ships. And I'm talking not only about the recent conflict, but about the series of wars our country went through during three years of my rule."

"We greeted the new states with open arms. Those who weren't willing to join the Empire, felt no oppression after being conquered. But ask yourself a question, do you feel confident about your kids' future? Now there aren't any outside threats, no warlords who fight with each other, every day hundreds, thousands died because of spats of over fifteen countries. There wasn't a single day of peace in this part of the Galaxy, not a single day without a cannon firing down at the civilians, without someone dying from unstoppable wars. Now, who will attempt to attack you? That's right. No one."

"We will never forget the sacrifices our soldiers made, nor we will vandalize the graves of our former enemies. They were heroes in their own way, even if opposing to us. And since their families now have Imperial passports and their husbands and fathers now lie dead, it is only fair that their loss should be compensated. I see it no other way."

"With this being said, when the unification of our region is completed, with combined efforts, we, the proud citizens of the Empire, can move forward, towards the great future. That is all for now, dear friends, we have a lot of work ahead of us. Let me wish you the great achievements on your small path, which leads to the wide road we all share."

-Timeskip-

Twenty one year old Emperor leaned back in his seat, putting his legs on the table. Danny was holding a cup of coffee in one hand, while holding the datapad in another. He couldn't help but grin in pride. The report he got concerned the Star Forge. He had finished the creation of ectoplasmic generator, powerful enough to power the entire station. The Rakata were satisfied, so their inspector left. Now the construction was going with new force, and was much cheaper. He was promised that the station would be ready in three years.

The smirk fell down when he saw the price. Yep. It was as expensive as he and Thrawn thought. The Chiss had recently figured out that the Empire was building the superweapon. He wasn't enlightened about it, nor he wanted to be. Thrawn wanted to find out everything himself. He saw the spendings on raw resources, while not seeing the ships which could be built with them. When the Grand Admiral confronted the monarch, which could be called his friend to a decree, he asked what exactly the weapon was.

Thrawn tried to convince the Emperor that it was irrational to spend most of the military budget on one weapon instead of enormous armada. With a carefree smile Phantom proceeded to explain what the Star Forge was. The Chiss was satisfied with it, enthusiastic even, if the word could be applied to him.

Danny made a sip of coffee, before hearing a cry nearby. He jumped out of surprise, almost spilling the drink on his pants. Phantom glanced to the side and saw Alva sitting on her perch. It chirped a sound which was oddly similar to laughter. She had returned from her feeding trip in the forest, obviously. Alva was now an adult, as tall as the hawk should be, and her beak now fit the name of her specie, hooked and pretty. Phantom narrowed his neon eyes.

"Haha, very funny."

The bird chirped, before scratching her side under white wing.

"No one asked you," Danny grumbled.

Phantom perked up at hearing Dani's loud yelp. His look turned concerned, Danny put the cup and datapad on the table and went straight through the several walls, right to the living room. It was a comfy place, with a shelf full of paper books taking the entire wall. The opposite wall had a fireplace in its center, with several soft armchairs nearby. In one of the corners was a pile of toys, used by a certain white haired girl. And speaking of, he saw Dani lying on the floor on her stomach. Ahsoka was near her, and Komand was sitting on one of the armchairs with a book in her hands. They both were staring at the ghost girl.

"What happened here?" Danny asked in confusion.

Dani suddenly jumped on her feet with an excited grin on her face. "I was flying, Daddy!" She squealed.

Phantom's eyes were ready to jump out of his head. He glanced to the side and received multiple nods of confirmation. Danny then looked at the six years old with a soft smile on his face.

"Can you do that again?" He asked gently.

Dani pouted in thought. "I dunno. But I'll try," she smiled adorably, looking up at Danny.

She closed her eyes, but wasn't able to do anything. When the girl opened her eyes, they seemed to be watering. It was so like her to take everything seriously.

"Hey, that's alright, princess," Danny kneeled to her eyelevel. "Think of something light, like a feather. And then imagine the wind which pushes you forward and above the ground."

Dani nodded and tried to do as her father said.

"Open your eyes, sweetheart," she heard Phantom's voice.

The girl did that and squealed in joy again. She was a few feet above the ground. Dani shook her legs in the air and giggled. But Danny looked probably more happy. He laughed in excitement.

"Here you go, keep doing it, Dani!" He said.

"I'm flying!" The girl waved her hands like a bird, before suddenly dropping on a few inches.

Danny flinched and was about to catch her, outstretching his hands forward, but the ghost girl managed to stay in the air. Probably because of her determined pout. Phantom laughed even more, along with everyone else, before flying up to her and hugging with a manly squeal.

"Oh, God, I can't believe my little girl is flying already!" He said with happy tears.

"Aren't you overreacting?" Komand asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Komy, you don't understand. For us, ghosts, it is even more important than making first steps. Bring the camera, quickly!"

Komand quickly strolled out of the room. It was indeed the moment to capture. Nevertheless, she shook her head and chuckled at her lover's antics.

"Uhm, Master, I think you are suffocating her," Ahsoka noted.

Danny looked down at his daughter and quickly loosened his hold. Phantom realized that he had forgotten that Dani was only a halfa. The girl just shook her head and giggled. She then tried to get out of her father's hold, believing that she could fly on her own. Danny wasn't persistent, and let her go. Dani was confidently staying on her place above the ground. By then Komand had gotten the camera and returned to the room. With a smirk, she raised the device.

"Alright, now smile."

And the flash recorded one of the memorable moments of their lives.

-Timeskip-

"This isn't going according to plan," Danny said.

"Oh, really, and what gave you this idea? The fact that we are who knows how far away from our forces or that we are tied to the wooden pole?" Komand asked sarcastically.

To say that they were embarrassed was to say nothing. It was one thing to be war prisoners and another thing was to be captured by a bunch of teddy bears. It started as a dangerous plan of expansion. The danger was that in order to get to the uncolonized and independent Wild Space on the Galactic South East and North East, the Empire had to take several worlds in jurisdiction of the Republic. Phantom planned on setting up the Imperial bases in secret. They worked on uninhabited planets, or moons, just like Endor they were currently on. Or at least they thought it was uninhabited.

The base was set up in the endless woods, and the two just decided to go on a small camping trip. And, as it was evident, the date was kind of ruined. Both Danny and Komand couldn't understand how the locals got them. Despite being one meter tall, the Ewoks were quite strong, and their height made them sneaky. Then a stone to the head and voila, they are unconscious. Or at least Komand, Danny just pretended to be. Damn inner scientist.

He was interested in their culture. There were curious wooden structures high in the trees. Knowing that every culture and specie is affected by its surroundings, Danny was a bit buffled. What could force that seemingly cute teddy bears to climb so high? Only something or someone very big. Judging from the height, this someone was at least twenty meters tall.

"What do you think about their architecture?" He suddenly asked.

"It's a bit...upside down," Komand deadpanned. They were indeed hung heads down.

"Oh, don't be so grumpy, Komy. Be optimistic!" Danny smiled. "We have a rare opportunity to witness their customs!"

"And their inners, apparently," the yuth said, nodding towards the big fire.

"I have no retort for that."

The small bears took the pole and put them above the fire.

"Are you going to do anything?" Komand asked as the tongues of fire started touching her robes.

"What exactly?"

The woman had an inferno in her eyes. "Are you kidding me?! We are about to get burned down! Free us!"

"Wait a bit. I'm listening to what they say."

One of the Ewoks with the stuff whispered something to the guy, who looked like a chieftain. The chieftain hit the floor beneath him with a spear and everyone turned to the gray bear, including two captives.

"Tribesmen, rejoice, for our god-protector is here, and let us hope that the sacrifice in his honor will please him."

Danny translated the speech to his lover, confused as heck. Under loud cheering the Ewoks carried their 'god' outside on a wooden armchair. The captives' jaws dropped.

"Statement: Finally, the sacrifice. My dream has come true!"

"HK?!" Both Danny and Komand exclaimed.

Droid flinched, before looking at them. "Embarrassment: Oh, it's you, Master. Sorry for unconvenience."

"What. The. Hell."

"Explanation: When you departed, I decided to kill a few animals in hopes for challenge. I found this little meatbags and they mistook me for their god. Hehehe," he let out a tiny evil laugh, like a kid who was about to draw the mustache on someone's face. It was obvious he was up to no good.

"And you ordered them to fry and eat the bypassers?!" Komand exclaimed.

"Negative: No, they have been doing this before I came," HK responded calmly. "But now they make sacrifices for me alone. I'm flattered."

"Order them to free us," Danny commanded.

"Query: Are you sure?"

"YES!"

"Disappointment: And I so wanted a sacrifice of a few meatbags. Fine, let them go."

Ewoks blinked in confusion, but followed their god's command. After being freed, Danny immediately started talking with their chieftain. HK played his roled of the God to the end, giving his blessing. The Ewoks promised not to approach the Imperial posts, and the Stormtroopers would protect the small bears from Gorax. Judging from the chieftain's description, the garrison would need more artillery and vehicles to destroy those twenty meters tall behemoths. But all in all, more or less peaceful expansion could continue to move forward, to the East.

Following the doctrine of 'Blaster and bread', as Danny had called it, the growth on the North was continuing as well. Not as good as on the opposite side of the Galaxy, however. The colonization was complicated because of multiple Republican important hyperspace lines. The Imperials had to use sideways, smaller and slower. And if the Galactic map was looked down upon in two dimensions, then the Empire had an enclave, cut off by the Republic. Phantom had a wonderful sheme in mind.

He decided to stage and give financial support to revolting movements of the territories on his way. Most important ones were: Sernpidel, Dubrillion, Bescane and Kalee. The last one was simple as heck. The locals, the Kaleesh, were going through the hard times. They won a war against the Huk - a race of mantis like beings, but they got too carried away, killing both soldiers and civilians. The Senate imposed sanctions on the planet, blaming it for genocide. They even sent some Jedi to force peace, not even caring that Huks sold millions of Kaleesh into slavery, and that they were the ones to start the war.

Phantom appeared out of nowhere, taking the job of a generous donator. He saved thousands of families from rampaging famine, absolutely for free. It got him the appreciation of the public, even if at first they were suspicious of the alien. Following the cunning sheme, Danny took a loan from the Central Imperial Bank and lent the money under tiny percents to the planet. It helped them to stay intact. They would return the loan, and it was much cheaper to pay the difference to the bank than simply giving the money to the Kaleesh.

But the biggest bank of the Republic - The Intergalactic Banking Clan wasn't happy. They gained a lot after the war, and now Phantom just gave money to pay off the Clan's loan with horrid percentage. Despite Danny's effort to remain subtle, the Senate became aware about the donator. Did he get an appreciation? Not in the government, at least. The embargo was still intact, and they weren't going to make any exceptions. It was named a crime. People questioned where he got the money. When Phantom learned about that, one innocent wall got a hole in itself.

The enclave meanwhile kept growing. It was shaped as the hook, because this time the trade route didn't reach the end of the Galaxy. The border of the Empire went around it, leaving a buffer zone between them. But the main point of this expansion was one sand planet, named Korriban. The Sith were informed about the development, and to say that they were excited to return to their homeworld was an understatement. His status as the Choosen One among them became hard as rock. They immediately started rebuilding their cities and tombs.

At the moment Phantom was present on one of the non valid planets of Outer Rim. HK was walking near him, along with Ahsoka.

"Query: So, the planet is completely unguarded?" HK asked in bewilderment.

"Well, not completely. The Hutts control everything around here. And that slugs aren't the ones who take kindly to any offense, but you know that without me. You will have only one Legion, HK, you must look like a huge band of mercenaries. The Legion is on its way, but until then everything should be prepared. Then we will proclaim the planet's independence from the Hutt Cartel. This land is irrelevant, so they are unlikely to move their nonexistent butts too much."

"But why do we need it?" Ahsoka tilted her head.

"Simple. This planet should act as a curtain. Because right behind it we have our enclave," Danny proceeded to explain.

"Do we really have to hide? We are doing the right thing, aren't we?"

Phantom sighed. "Stereotypes, dear. If the Empire appears again out of the blue, it won't make us any good. They would look at us and see wicked invaders, not liberators. We must be subtle, helping those in need from the shadows. Only then we can reveal ourselves."

They entered the small settlement, and honestly, it looked like orbital bombardment happened each day around here. There was something Arabic about the design, though, not surprising on dusty planet.

"How can anyone live like that?" Ahsoka mumbled.

Danny overheard her. "This is how the world works, my apprentice. No government can get rid of poverty and hunger, but the Empire can help most of them. This is what we work for and one of the reasons I created it in the first place."

Silence settled between them. They both occasionally looked at the starving people. They passed a bunch of kids in rags, who were playing tag, trying to entertain themselves somehow, covered in a thick layer of dirt. Near the walls were sitting begging adults and supposedly orphans. Their eyes told them everything, those were the eyes of the people, whose dreams were never present in the first place, whose spirits were shattered and thrown into the space void. Well, their suffering was about to end.

Suddenly they heard the whirring of the engine. Soon several speeders stopped in front of them, with six armed men on each. They jumped off their transport and one guy in a durasteel armor went forward. Danny gestured for HK to stand down and do not fire immediately.

"Well, well, boys, a new guy who doesn't look like a beggar," the man said. "What did you forget here?"

"My dog, have you seen it?" Danny asked calmly, causing Ahsoka to flinch in laughter.

"I don't like being laughed at. This is the land of Ziro the Hutt. Pay the fee or the conversation will end he..."

Phantom turned on the lightsaber and fiddled with it, not caring about the assaultants at all. "I'm sorry, were you about to say something?"

Some of the bandits made a step back in fear. Danny was about to order them to submit. But before the words left his mouth, the crowd broke into loud and happy cheers. And the ghost was about to order them to drop their weapons, but the armed men did just that before his command. He could smell their fear. While they kept shifting nervously, HK turned to Phantom.

"Move them somewhere," his Master ordered. HK nodded and moved the bandits away.

Danny then felt Ahsoka tugging on his white cape.

"Why did they do that?" She asked her guardian.

Danny put a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes.

"This is the true power of the lightsaber, Ahsoka. Not the laser, not the hilt, but the symbol it holds. It plants the fear into the hearts of the bandits and puts hope into those who lack it. By simply turning it on I did both of these things. This people around us now have a hope for the future and we will help them build it."

At his words the Star Destroyer appeared above them. It wasn't only transporting the Legion, it carried tons of food, water and clothes. Ahsoka looked back at the Emperor, seeing the man, who was more of protector than any Jedi.

-Timeskip-

It was one of the rare moments when Danny could allow himself to stay with Komand throughout the entire night. He was reading the book while his love was quietly snoring on his shoulder, her chest steadily rising and falling. But the peaceful time was interrupted by a loud scream. Danny jumped up on his feet in a split second, with a fearful expression on his face. Komand was rubbing her eyes, but Phantom had already bolted out of the room.

Danny ran down the corridor, right into his daughter's room. To his small relief, Dani was there. But the girl was shaking and crying.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Phantom asked, sitting nearby.

Dani immediately jumped into a hug and sobbed. "Ni-nightmare!" She said.

Phantom sighed, running a hand through the girl's hair. "You scared us even more, kiddo," he chuckled.

"Can I...sleep with you?"

"Of course, princess. Common."

Dani wasn't letting go, so instead of walking near her, Danny scooped the girl in his arms and carried her back to the bedroom. The seven years old was clutching him for dear half life, but her sobs reduced. After entering his room, Phantom noticed that the sobs turned into steady breathing. Has she fallen asleep while they were walking? Shaking his head, Danny lied on the bed with her, explaining the situation to Komand. The woman nodded sleepily and drifted back to the kingdom of Morpheus. Dani snuggled closer, making her father chuckle again. He was so happy he took her four years ago.

They were training almost every day, and the day after was not an exception. In a special room two ghosts were practicing their own powers.

"Alright, Dani, your blasts are getting more controllable. Good job," Danny praised with a smile, making the girl grin.

"Thanks, Daddy."

"Now, I want to test something else. Try making the most powerful charge you can manage. Fire at that dummy."

Dani nodded. She then closed her eyes and her hands glowed green. It was becoming brighter and brighter, before she launched the ray forward. The big explosion left nothing from the iron statue they used as the target.

"Oops, sorry, Mr. Dummy!" The girl said.

Danny chuckled, examining the result. It was quite powerful for a child of her age. Not surprising, considering that her father was the most powerful ghost around. But his eyes then noticed something about Dani, and he frowned.

"Hm, give me your hand, sweetie."

The girl blinked, but followed the request. Danny's hand was immediately covered by the green goo, which the girl's arm was dipping. It was ectoplasm, there was no doubt about that. But Dani wasn't bleeding. It all started after the blast, which used her power. The ghosts usually trickled ectoplasm when their cores were wounded and they started to destabilize. But Dani was alright, her core was checked at Frostbite's a few weeks back!

Phantom's mind started to race on rapid speeds. Maybe he was panicking too much? If it wasn't about being a ghost, and half human status had nothing to do with that, since it never happened to him when he was still a halfa...It probably had something to do with...cloning. Just great, Vlad's researches were gone long ago, he had no chance of finding it out himself because he wasn't a genetic scientist. What should he do?

"Daddy, are you alright?" Dani asked in concern.

"I'm fine. Something is going on with you. I don't know how...Yes, that's the only way."

"What d'ya mean?"

"We are going to Kamino."


	33. Chapter XXXIII: Kamino

They departed immediately, right after informing the servants just in case. Two ghosts exited the portal and immediately got under a heavy rain. Not surprising, Kamino was known to have rains almost 24/7 or however long the rotation of the planet was. With such climate it wasn't surprising that the planet was one huge ocean. Seeing his daughter's obvious discomfort, Danny covered the girl from the falling droplets. Dani gave a smile of appreciation and Phantom's heart melted.

They walked incide the circular building. The doors slid open and they went inside. Danny unvoluntary shivered. There was just so much white, it brought very unpleasant memories. The corridor was empty, but soon one of Kaminoans rounded the corner. The alien had white skin, a very thin build, but at the same time he or she was very tall, mostly because of the long thin neck, which made the small bald head stand a few inches higher. The alien approached the pair and Dani took Phantom's hand.

"Greetings sir," an obvious she said in an emotionless voice and nodded slightly. "Do you have an appointment?"

"I do not. I just heard that you offer the services of genetic healing, and I need them."

"Hm. The Prime Minister isn't occupied at the moment. Let me show you the way."

She strolled forward, her walk looking more like a flow. Dani tugged the stark haired man's sleeve.

"Daddy, they are scary," she whispered so low that only the ghost could hear.

Danny chuckled. "The Galaxy is wide, darling. And it's inhabited by many races you will one day rule over. You have to get used to them."

They entered the small circular room, also white. There were three chairs hanging from the ceiling. From one of them rose another Kaminoan, in black and gray clothes. He had the same black eyes with gray rings as Phantom's guide. Also, he spotted several crests on his head.

"Let me present you, Lama Su, the Prime Minister of Kamino," the guide gestured towards the man and stepped aside.

"We didn't expect any visits," Lama Su commented, taking the same emotionless tone. "Take a seat, please."

Danny did as was told and Dani situated on his lap.

"What brings you here?" The Kaminoan asked.

Phantom sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I just want to heal my daughter."

"We can arrange that, there are a few spare labs. But the operation is not cheap, I must warn you. Five hundred thousand credits."

Danny's eyes widened. It was a goddamn robbery! But he didn't show any anger.

"I suppose there isn't any chance I'll be able to convince you to drop the price?"

"No," was the curt answer.

Dani looked up at Phantom, "Daddy, are you sure I need it?"

The stark haired man didn't answer to her. "I'll pay everything."

"You may pay half now and half if it works. But we guarantee the results, and you may stay until the end of healing procedure."

Phantom nodded slowly, before being given the datapad. He signed the contract, informing the Prime Minister that the payment would come tomorrow. Thankfully, Danny could change the Imperial currency to the Republican, because they were made of pure aurodium, and aurodium was valued everywhere. Phantoms were guided through the corridors, meeting even more Kaminoans on their way. Danny's hearing caught something loud behind the white walls, but he went forward nevertheless. He will check it later, obviously.

"Are you okay, Daddy? You were shaking," Dani asked in concern.

Phantom realized that his limbs were shaking slightly indeed. Danny gave a weak smile. "Yeah, I'm alright, sweetie. Just cold."

The girl wasn't convinced. Her father never was cold, even while being on ice planets. But she didn't pry. Poor girl didn't know that Danny just didn't want her to know what he had to go through. She was far too young. Suddenly the guide spoke.

"You will be staying in a room next to one of our employees. I strongly recommend to be careful near him, he is a Mandalorian."

Danny raised his eyebrow. "What a Mandalorian can possibly be doing here?"

"This is a corporative secret. We need his services, that's all I can say."

The door slid open, and Phantoms stepped inside. The room was small, about twelve square meters, with one big bed, a desk with a chair, and the Holonet screen. Dani grinned and jumped on the bed immediately. Phantom meanwhile looked at the guide and she understood what he wanted to ask.

"We will check your child's condition in a few hours. We have to prepare everything, and you will be informed about it."

The Kaminoan nodded and walked off. Danny heard the clanking of the springs and looked at Dani, who was jumping on the mattress and laughing in excitement. Phantom smiled softly at the girl and approached her. Suddenly he grabbed Dani in mid flight and dropped on the bed together with her, laughing together now. But there was a deep concern beneath Danny's smile. He prayed that he was worried for nothing and everything could be easily fixed. He couldn't even imagine losing his beloved child.

"Hey, Daddy, wanna see our neighbors?" She asked.

Dani was half way to the entrance when her father stopped her. "Hey, wait there, baby girl, I'm not exactly sure about that. Mandalorians are known to be very mean."

"Hey, how do you know HE is mean?" The girl pouted, making Phantom blink.

'Smart girl,' he thought with a note of pride. She was right, he himself was against judging the entire race because of certain individuals. Even if all Mandalorians were warmongers. Not as of late, actually, or so Danny heard. Phantom sighed and smiled at the white haired girl.

"Great, I'm raising smarty pants," he said, poking on her nose with a pointing finger and making her giggle.

The two exited the room and made a few steps to the next door. Phantom knocked on the door, but the one who opened it was not someone he expected. There was a ten years old boy, with tanned skin reminiscent of Hispanic, brown hair and black eyes. He blinked in surprise at seeing the visitors.

"Uhm, can I help you?" He asked.

"Oh, we are your neighbors from next door," Danny said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yep, we came to say hello!" Dani chirped in with a grin.

The boy raised his eyebrow. "Alriight. Do you need anything else?"

Everyone heard a cough behind. They turned back and saw the man in blue and black armor, with gray metal plates. He had a strong resemblance to the boy, with the same skin color, eyes and brown hair, in a crew cut. The man narrowed his eyes, and his hand was close to the blaster pistol on his belt. Danny prepared to defend himself and Dani if needed. However, it didn't ease the man's suspicions, if anything, it only hardened them. Phantom's stance was not of an amateur. Luckily, Danny forgot to bring the lightsaber with him, or the Mandalorian would have straightforwardly attacked.

"Boba, step aside," the man said and his supposed son complied. "Now, who are you and what are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you, too. Daniel Phantom, and I visited this place for a Kaminoan healing."

"This planet is not usually charted."

"I'm rich and influential. Wasn't so hard to find it."

In reality, all his influence depended on the power of the Imperial Intelligence. Through the corrupt officials it was simple to learn about everything going on within the Republic. The second something of importance happened, the report of the agents dropped on the Emperor's table. For example, there were rumors about the secret formation of the Separatist Alliance. The Intelligence confirmed it. Actually, Danny even knew that it was going to be created on Geonosis in three weeks. And he had a plan.

"Just great, another money bag," The man grumbled, relaxing a bit. "Stay away or I'll send a bolt into your skull."

"You are a mercenary aren't you?" Danny asked calmly, making another adult stop halfway in the door. "Bounty Hunter, to be precise. The stance, several darts, probably poisonous. On your back you carry the blaster which can be turned into a sniper rifle in a split second. Do Kaminoans need you to get rid of someone?"

"That's none of your business, whelp."

The door closed right in front of Danny's face. He looked down at the ghost girl, whose neon eyes were wide.

"That was rude," she commented.

Danny sighed. "I told you. Let's get back to the room. I've got to tell Komand where we are."

"Can I talk to her, too?"

Phantom laughed. "I can't see why not."

In the evening, which was as dark as the noon and the morning on the planet, they were called to the special room. Dani was scared, but Phantom was with her in order to reassure the girl. He didn't like being there as well, but he was ready for that for her. He sat on a chair near the bed on which Dani was laying. The Kaminoan scientist, wearing medicine coat, approached them.

"What is the exact reason of the visit?" He interested. "Any symptoms? Or you wish for genetic improvements?"

"Show him, Dani."

The girl understood what Phantom meant and concentrated the energy in her hand. It started oozing again and Dani stopped abruptly. With a curious hum, the scientist took the ectoplasm inside a bicker.

"Are you aware what this substance is?" He asked in genuine confusion.

"Yes, this is an ectoplasm. Our race is...unusual."

With a non amused look, the Kaminoan put some droplets on the special scanner. Soon the screen showed the data, and the scientist was surprised at what he saw. The genetic structure was abnormal. What an amazing scientific discovery, the Kaminoan decided. The structure seemed strange, it was shaped like DNA, but the components of deoxyribonucleic acid were absent. Instead there was some strange green material.

"We haven't seen a race like yours. We certainly would have remembered."

"Then you have to trust me in the matter of my kind. Can we speak in private?"

The scientist nodded and they went behind the door, and Danny told the girl to sit still. Once they were out of hearing reach, Phantom looked at the scientist. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Look, as a ghost, she is a healthy one. We have seen the expert in that matter. I don't want her to know that she is my clone, but I'm afraid that that is the main problem. Her ectosignature is what you have just seen."

"A clone?" The Kaminoan looked at the door. "Imperfect one, I see."

He then noticed that Phantom's eyes blazed brightly. "By that I meant that she is not a complete copy. Even because she is a female."

The scientist lied. Their natural perfectionism played out.

"So, can you fix the issue?"

"This case is unprecedented. We will need an example of a healthy genetic structure. The father's organism will be most helpful."

Phantom nodded.

After medical check and after giving the sample of Danny's ectoplasm, two Phantoms returned to their room. There they had a dinner, before Dani fell asleep on the soft bed. The Emperor stroked his little princess' snowy locks lovingly as the girl snored quietly. He then got up and became invisible. The place was pressing him, and Danny wanted to check if something was going on around there. He made an invisible duplicate and sent him to check everything out.

Phantom flew through several walls and froze. It looked like military barracks, and there were several men chatting, while some tried to fall asleep. The weirdest thing was that they all looked the same, like the Bounty Hunter who lived next door. Danny doubted that the guy had a big family, so they must have been clones.

'Clones of a mercenary...What are they for?' Danny thought.

He rubbed his chin in thought, while hanging right under the ceiling. A single clone's cost was huge, and to make...one, two...twenty or more of them, the Bounty Hunter couldn't afford them, and why does he need a potential competition? Something was clearly off. He planned to destroy the data they got about him in the end. Who knows how they would use the signature of the most powerful ghost in the Mortal World. He needed to get to the root of the situation at hand. However, no one gave him a vacation from governmental duty as well.

But another issue distracted him. The healing took more time than he anticipated. Kaminoans had to uncover the secret of yet unknown structure of genetic resemblance. The main complication was that Danny wasn't a half ghost anymore. There was nothing left from DNA in his ectoplasm. The scientific group managed to find the similar traits in genetic structure. But that was it, and the research slowed down again. Danny was getting worried, to sweeten the things, Dani's condition became worse. To start dissolving she required the usage of less and less power.

Still, she was let to walk, at least for the time being. Sometimes even without her father's supervision. But there was nothing to do, she got bored with watching cartoons on Holonet. Since Dani was told not to go too far, she only stared out of the window in boredom, at the endless line of the ocean, dark clouds above it and sometimes white lightings on the distance. Same view as always.

Suddenly she heard a knock. Dani jumped from her seat and ran to the door, before opening it. Boba was standing behind it.

"Oh, hi, Boba, do ya need anything?" Dani asked, tilting her head?

"Uhm, yes. I wanted to apologize for earlier. Father doesn't trust anyone but me, so he was being cautious."

The girl smiled. "Okay, you are forgiven."

Boba blinked. "That easily?"

"Yep. It wasn't your fault anyway. Wanna come in?"

"I'm not sure..."

He was suddenly pulled inside. Boba was surprised at how easily the girl has done that. Dani hummed in thought, tapping on the ground with her leg. Boba meanwhile took a look at his surroundings and noticed a pile of books. He picked the one on top and examined it curiously. The boy then realized that he didn't know the language. Dani noticed Boba's confusion.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"What language is this?" Boba showed the cover of the book.

"Oh, it's English," Dani said as if it explained everything. "This is...Scarlet sails."

"I see."

There was a note of disappointment in the boy's tone as he put the book back on its place. Then a thought crossed his mind.

"Hey, can I ask why exactly are you here?"

"Well...my powers are getting weird. Daddy thought that it will get better here."

"What powers."

Dani smiled shyly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Look."

She pointed her finger towards a plastic cup. Soon a small beam flew out of her finger and hit the cup. Boba stared at the display.

"Was that...a blaster bolt?" He whispered.

"Nope. Ectobeam. You should have seen what Daddy can do. He blew up the ship!"

She made a booming sound, swiping her hands widely and falling on the bed, showing the power of explosion. Boba couldn't help but laugh slightly at the antics of the slightly younger girl. Dani laughed too, right before hearing the voice.

"You know, if you were nine years older I would have suspected something bad," Danny commented.

Both kids looked at the entrance and saw the ghost smirking at them. Phantom stepped inside the room.

"Is your father okay with you being here?" He asked Bobba.

The boy shrugged. "He is away on Coruscant. Father won't be around for a few days."

"I see. Well, I'm afraid I'll have to take Dani for another body check."

The white haired girl groaned, hitting the pillow.

"Hey, I'm not going anywhere from here," Boba assured her with a small smile.

As they were leaving the room, Dani seemed very jumpy. Phantom smiled, looks like she found herself a friend. Indeed, during the following two days two kids had fun together, they tried to prank Danny, but Phantom, to their disappointment, was two steps ahead. They didn't surrender, no matter how hard it was to catch the man off guard.

But in the meantime Dani's condition worsened yet again. Now, she couldn't use her abilities without any threat to her physical condition. Moreover, it sometimes happened for no reason at all. And the search for the cure was too slow. In the middle of one night older Phantom heard quiet sobbing and felt the girl clutching to his hand.

"Hey, what's wrong, sweetie?" Danny asked softly. "Nightmare, again?"

The ghost girl looked up at him with teary eyes and nodded, before hugging her father. Danny noticed some droplets of ectoplasm on his clothes.

"Am I going to die, Daddy?"

Phantom froze in horror, before dropping the book and hugging the girl tighter than ever. "No, my princess. You are going to be fine, I promise, darling. We will find a way, don't worry."

He kissed Dani's forehead and the girl's sobs were becoming more quiet, before finally stopping. Phantom wiped her small face from tears and she soon fell asleep again in his caring arms. Not being able to look at her, Danny got up and exited the room. He didn't know what to do, he didn't goddamn KNOW! He started nervously pacing back and forward, his mind running on high speed. What COULD he do? He was not a genetics scientist. They needed his DNA, but how was he supposed to get it?!

He punched the nearest wall and made a hole in it. The electricity sparkled, but he didn't flinch. Soon he felt a foreign presence behind.

"Sir."

"What?" He snarled, looking at the Kaminoan with crimson eyes.

The alien usually didn't feel emotions, but the fear rose in a bottom of his chest.

"We...we found the solution, or so we think."

"Speak."

"Follow me, sir."

They went through the corridor and entered the room. Several scientists stood there, and they turned to the new arrivals.

"It is better be something valuable," Phantom growled.

One of the Kaminoans stepped forward and pressed a button.

"You are going to take any measure, I take it?" He asked.

Phantom nodded.

"Then you will agree on our offer. Your clone's swiped gender is a result of mutation, but this anomaly couldn't have no effect on her DNA. Your paternal genes were holding this weak construction together. It started dissolving, however, and the problem was not in your genes. We haven't noticed the obvious."

"Get. To. The point."

"We need to replace the chromosome responsible for gender. We need an organism, whose female gender is caused by XX chromosomes. But for that we have to acquire the egg."

An idea struck Danny's head. His eyes turned green again as the hope shined in front of him. "I'll see what I can do."

He walked on the street, under the rain, but out of anyone's sight, teleported and reappeared back in the Palace all across the Galaxy. Without much ceremony, he barged inside the room. Komand jumped in surprise on the bed and rubbed her sleepy eyes. Getting into sitting position, she looked at the newest arrival.

"Danny? What are you..."

"Komy, I must ask you something. This is about Dani. She...she has gotten worse. She is dissolving."

"What?" She whispered in horror. "Why didn't you tell me before?!" Komand exclaimed suddenly.

"I thought, I prayed I was worried for nothing! But no. She may...Komand, you can save her, but..."

"Just let me put my clothes on."

"Are...are you going to just do that without thinking?" He asked incredulously, looking how Komand was putting her robes hurriedly.

"Of course. Danny, I lived with her for four years and I care for her. I can't let this precious girl die."

Phantom approached the young woman and hugged and kissed her. "Thank you," he whispered.

Komand smiled. "Don't mention it, snow head."

They teleported back on Kamino. The scientists were surprised at seeing the visitor, but realized that Phantom wasn't going to share the secret. Still, the man was an object of interest to the genetics. Danny was going to shoot the first one who even suggested such a thing. Never he was going to lie on a lab table again.

The operation began in the next morning, very early. Danny was watching their every step, not trusting the guys in lab coats at all. The Kaminoans gave anesthesia to the woman and she fell asleep. Then they extracted what they needed from her belly with a special device. Then a few hours passed in order to process what they had extracted, and Danny was the only one awake. Soon the scientists acquired the required components. All what was left was to give it to the dying girl. It took a little to no time, because that's what the cloners did on daily occasion. For that they needed to put Dani in a bakta tank. After all, they needed to replace ALL DNA's defective parts.

After the processing both Komand and Dani were sleeping in the room Phantoms were staying in. Danny was sitting nearby, still a bit nervous. He was informed that the situation was stable, but he would like to check everything himself. Suddenly, a strange thought occured in his mind and made him blush violently. There was no telling the reaction of both of the girls in front of him. Komand was the first one to wake up. Danny looked at her and smiled.

"Good morning, sleepy head," he said cheerfully.

"Morning. Is everything alright?" the woman asked in concern.

"Well, so they say. I'd like to give thumbs up unless proved otherwise. Komy, there is something you need to know..."

"Daddy?"

Phantom's head snapped in direction of the ghost girl, who was already sitting on her bed. He smiled brightly and sat on her bed.

"How are you doing, princess?" Danny asked softly.

"I feel better now," Dani beamed, before hugging her father. "Thank you!"

"Well, thank her, not me," Phantom pointed at Komand. The girl's eyes shone brightly.

"Komy!" She squeaked joyfully, in a split second hugging her. Komand chuckled and stroked Dani's hair slowly, hugging her in response.

"So, what was that you wanted to say?" The woman asked, looking at Danny.

Phantom seemed a bit nervous. "Well, you see...Dani now has genes not only from me, but from you as well..."

Komand's eyes widened in realization. "So...that...that makes me her..."

"Mommy?" Dani looked up at her hopefully.

Danny looked worriedly at the woman's neutral expression. He could feel the conflict within her, but it dissappeared very quickly. Komand smiled softly at the child in her arms and looked into her eyes.

"I don't see why not," she said.

Dani teared up and buried her head deeper in Komand' chest. "Mommy!" She cried happily.

Phantom smiled at the exchange. "I'm surprised it was so simple for you."

"Danny, she was like a daughter to me for several years, and I love her just as much as you. Almost nothing changes from now."

"I'm glad to know that. All of what you just said."

The two kissed intensely. They may not be a family on papers, but they were just that. Too sad Ahsoka wasn't there at the moment. But their happy moment was interrupted by the Kaminoan, who entered without knocking.

"What do you need?" Phantom asked, getting up and walking closer to the alien.

"The procedure was successful and we didn't see any problems. Still, I would suggest that you stay here in case something happens. For a week, at the very least."

Danny glanced back. "Fine by me. You will get the rest of your million by this evening."

"We have arranged only a half of this price."

"I'm feeling generous today. Think of it as a reward for your additional scientific research."

"Thank you, sir."

Suddenly the communicator beeped and the Kaminoan responded. Danny listened as well, and his eyes widened in shock. The Jedi was here. The Kaminoan walked away to greet the guest, while Phantom just stood there. He turned to his family and Komand looked at him in confusion. Danny explained the situation to her and rubbed his chin.

"And what are you planning to do?" The woman asked.

"Hm, of course, it is better if we went unnoticed, but I'd like to know why he or she is here. You better wait here."

"I'm coming with you."

"No, you aren't. Komand, you have gone through the operation. There is no telling the consequences if you overexhaust yourself."

Komand sighed. "Fine," she said before patting Dani's head. "We will find what to do, right?"

"Yep," the girl beamed.

Phantom went out of the room in lifted mood. He followed his senses and went in direction of the Jedi. Danny briefly looked out of the inner window and froze. There was a cafeteria, filled with the clones of that Bounty Hunter. Not only that, there was an entire division. It wasn't just a squad. Phantom slapped his face in realization. He was so worried about Dani that he had forgotten about them. Could you blame him? Danny almost lost his child. Nevermind, he would discover every secret later. The Intelligence had something to look into.

Suddenly he heard an oddly familiar voice to the side.

"Daniel?"

Phantom abruptly turned to the side and his eyes widened, before the ghost smiled.

"Hey, Ben. What's up?"

Obi-Wan approached the man, not exactly sure how to proceed.

"What are you doing here?" The Jedi asked.

"I can ask the same question. My daughter needed to be healed. That's why I'm here. Now you."

Obi-Wan wasn't sure about telling Danny everything. Yes, he seemed nice enough, but he was mostly a stranger. Then the Jedi decided that it wouldn't do any harm. If anything, it could help. He leaned forward to whisper something on his ear.

"I'm searching for the assassin tasked with killing Senator Amidala. His name is Jango Fett and I have tracked him here."

"I see..." Danny mumbled. "Do you know anything about...this?" He gestured at the clone division.

"I've just found out myself. Apparently, Master Sifo-Dyas ordered to create an army for the Republic."

Now Danny's attention was fully on the Jedi.

"The Republic didn't have any army for millennias," he commented.

"Hopefully we won't need any now," Obi-Wan added grimly.

Phantom cursed mentally. And million times afterwards. It changed the plan of the campaign he created. The War Council had planned to fight the local forces and fleets. The centralized military was the last thing Danny wanted. But an army of clones...it was just ridiculous!

"Excuse me, Master Jedi. Can we go now?" The Kaminoan asked.

"Ah, yes, of course."

Danny decided to follow him. As they walked, Phantom decided to pry more.

"So, what's that about the Senator?" He asked.

"It all started with a blown ship. Her imposter died. Then the poisonous Kouhun. It wasn't done by him, by his employee, which was killed by Fett so she would be silent."

Danny whistled. "Damn, this guy is good."

Obi-Wan looked at him with a weirded expression. Phantom noticed it. "Hey, I meant he is good in his job."

A minute of silence later the Jedi remembered something. "I heard what you did on Kalee."

He noticed how Danny's eyes glowed brighter. "And what are you going to do? Arrest me for helping those people?"

"That's not what I meant. I looked into the matter, and saw the Council's mistake. I had just become a Knight at the moment, so I couldn't do anything. What I wonder about is where did you get all that money from?"

Phantom calmed down. "I'm selling the most unusual element in the Galaxy - ectoplasm. It makes the most powerful fuel if properly used. And it is more long-lasting and hence cheaper than the usual fuel, small traders can use it. As we say back on Terra, chicken eats a seed, trader earns a coin. I became rich enough to afford being a maecenas and donator. Well, and spend money on my family," he smiled softly.

Obi-Wan couldn't help but notice the change in the stark haired man's attire. It was certainly more rich than the casual clothes he wore during their first meeting. And speaking of.

"Why didn't you call us?" He asked.

"I waited for you to call."

"So did we..."

They both snorted and choked back the laughter. Not because it was funny, but because it was so ridiculous. They kept a radio silence just because they waited for each other to make the first call like an arguing prepubescent couple. And all of that lasted for four damn years. Suddenly Danny noticed that they were getting closer to his room, namely to the nearest door to Phantom's room. He blinked. No way. Danny froze on his place and didn't notice how Obi-Wan entered the room.

"Shouldn't be surprised," he deadpanned.

Danny then realized that he was outside, but he wasn't going to come in uninvited. But then he realized that the corridor became too crowdy. He couldn't become invisible. Soon Obi-Wan exited the room and Danny was surprised that everything went without any fights. The Jedi looked at him.

"Well, it went nice," he said.

"And not a scratch on old man Ben. What happened there?"

"I'm not old," Obi-Wan complained. "Is this because of a beard?" He sighed. "I just interrogated him. Now I have to tell the Council, and you are coming with me."

"On Coruscant?"

"At least to communicator. You have been running around for too long."

"Fine by me," Danny shrugged.

The Kaminoan guide followed them to the exit, speaking with the Jedi Master.

"You can tell the Council that the first battalions are ready. And remind them that if they need new warriors, we will need a lot of time to bring them up."

"I'll remind, thank you," Obi-Wan said and nodded, before exiting the building.

Danny followed him under heavy rain. He simply phased all the droplets coming through him. Ben meanwhile pulled on his hood. There was a single red ship on the platform. It was small, for one person. An astromech was sitting in its position on the left side from the pilot's cabin.

"R4, code 5 to Coruscant, object: the Garden of Stones."

Phantom raised his eyebrow as the small antenna came from the hull and spinned. The hologram appeared and Danny couldn't help but smirk as the nostalgic memories flooded into his mind.

"Masters, I've successfully established the contact with the Prime Minister of Kamino. They use the mercenary named Jango Fett to create an army of clones. I suspect that this Bounty Hunter is the assassin we are looking for."

"So, the creators of clones attempted to kill Senator Amidala?" The dark skinned guy asked.

"No, Master. They have no motives."

"Assumptions you shouldn't make, Obi-Wan," Yoda advised. "Clear your mind must be. To find the villains, who all of this plotted."

"Yes, Master. They also said that Master Dyas made an order for the army's creation by Council's agreement ten years ago. I thought he was killed a bit earlier. Has the Council ever decided to create it?"

"No," was Windu's firm answer. "The one who made this order did so without the Council's decision."

"Bring him here, you must. Interrogate him, we will."

"Yes, Master. I also found Daniel Phantom, can you come in sight please?"

"Are you offering to stand under rain all the time?" Danny complained as his image appeared in the hologram, before looking at two Masters.

"Hello, Mr. Wrinkles. Hello, black dude," he greeted. "You look a lot like Samuel Jackson, actually."

"An immature one, it seems," Yoda commented.

"Speak normally, someone can't," Danny responded, before being nudged by Obi-Wan. "Hey!"

"You are speaking with the Grand Master of the Jedi Order," the older man whispered angrily.

"I never had any respect for authorities."

"So we learnt," Windu grumbled.

"Ah, I'll never get tired of being blamed for crimes. I was considered a criminal on my planet ever since being fourteen. This is not for you to decide, Jackson."

"What planet and what have you done?"

"It was called Earth, but lately it was renamed to Terra. It's a continental world in the Unknown Regions. And no, I'm not gonna show you the way."

Windu and Obi-Wan stared at him with non amused looks. Yoda meanwhile looked thoughtful.

"I helped people. You probably felt the power I have, and I used it to fight off the ferocious creatures which terrorized us. But the following damage didn't add me any love. Kidnapping, robberies, I got framed with all of that by my enemies. Though, I admit, I maay have looked into the girls' locker room. Once!"

"And your parents were fine with it?"

"I'm twenty two years old, like I should give a shit to what that old farts say. If they were alive, that is. Poor fellows couldn't stand a few tons of concrete to their heads. Anyways, it was nice to talk with you and all, but I have a meeting to barge in on Geonosis. Ta!"

Phantom turned away and walked off. The Jedi was buffled by a level of ignorance from the young man. Obi-Wan sighed, as the rain kept drumming on his clothes. He was worse than Anakin. Then the Jedi remembered that he had a Bounty Hunter to catch.


	34. Chapter XXXIV: The war begins

"Ah, Geonosis, what a junkyard," Danny commented dryly.

He was exaggerating, of course, the planet wasn't one of such worlds. Geonosis was a sand planet, with an asteroid belt which used to be its satellite. There were still several parts of the planet where any life was impossible because of radiation levels. That's why its inhabitants had been living underground for centuries. The planet was located in the Outer Rim, and, ironically, the nearest Imperial outpost was a few hundred parsecs to the South.

Phantom got a bit delayed, actually, there were some matters he needed to sort out immediately, but they were taken care of quickly. When Danny appeared on Geonosis, he immediately noticed rocky structures on the distance, looking like termite mounds. Thankfully the Intelligence had provided him with the exact coordinates. It wouldn't have been funny if he had to pinpoint a location on the large planet. When he told Obi-Wan that he was going to barge in, Danny wasn't kidding. But that also meant that he would be an uninvited guest.

It should be fun as hell.

Turning invisible, Danny flew forward towards the building complex. He became intangible and got inside. Surprisingly, those crude buildings looked much better on the inside. Bas-reliefs looked very unusual, but that's what made them so interesting. It was a large hall, there weren't many decorations, rocks, rocks and rocks. Nicely curved and cut, but still rocks. The guards were outside, so Danny turned visible again. He went up the half circular staircase and entered the corridor.

It was poorly lightened, but Danny decided against lighting the way. His sensitive ears were on guard, so he could catch the footsteps or clatter of the wings. He didn't want to reveal his presence just yet. Only in front of the guy in charge. Phantom felt the presence of the Force sensitive, quite powerful for that matter. He decided to follow the trail, Danny calmly strolled forward, like if he was going through his own palace, before hearing clacking sounds. With the same expression Phantom walked into the right wall and came out in the next room.

Finally Danny stopped near the last door. He phased through and saw two men sitting at the table. One was a human, quite old, over seventy that's for sure. He had short grayed hair and a short, but carefully kept beard, which gave him a very noble look. He was wearing black and seemingly comfortable clothes, with a dark brown cape hanging on his shoulders, held by a silver clasp. He was talking with an alien beside him.

His conversationalist was a Geonosian. He had a grayish brown thick skin typical for his race, yellow eyes. From his chin were coming leathery spurts, which made it look like if the insectoid had an actual beard. He was wearing a metal chestplate, with holes in the back so it won't bother his dark yellow wings. In his hands the Geonosian held a cane.

"Our guests should arrive soon, Archduke Poggle," the human said in a low baritone. "Is everything ready?"

"Indeed, Count," the Geonosian said in his language of clacks and squawks. "You will see the results of our work as soon as they arrive."

Suddenly, the old man perked up. "We are not alone."

Danny saw one of the chairs flying at him, but Phantom merely caught it, before turning visible.

"How rude," the ghost commented, putting the chair on the ground. "But I'll think of it as if you offered this chair."

"Who are you?" The old man asked.

"And how did you get inside?" Poggle added.

"Ah, so many questions and so little time," Danny sighed, sitting on a chair. "Daniel Phantom is my name. As for how I got here, you should harden your security. Every idiot can get inside be using the cloaking device. Your Geonosian sense of smell doesn't work through the walls, so you know, Archduke. So, why I came here in the first place. A little birdie whispered that you are building a Separatist movement, Count Dooku."

"And you made the entire way here so you can ask to join?" Dooku asked. He kept the polite tone, at least for now.

"Yes. It was fun breaching your security. Anyways, I have several planets under my influence. By a snap of my fingers the locals will flip the Republican government in multiple sectors and come under my protection. But I need the assurance that your forces will be ready to assist the rebellions."

'Or I will have to send in the Stormtroopers,' Danny added mentally.

"May I ask, how have you learned about the Separatist movement's formation?"

"I can afford several agents. I can learn a lot of things, starting from this and ending with what is in the Chancellor's wardrobe."

Dooku stared at the young man in front of him. There was no possible way he could know. Danny meanwhile continued.

"I have several very talented commanders in my services as well. And since the Republic is building up its military machine, you will need both me and my men."

"It is what?"

Suddenly one of the Geonosians entered the room, namely flew through the hole under the ceiling, and reported something to Poggle. The Archduke rose from his seat, leaning on his cane.

"The guests have arrived, Count," Poggle said.

Dooku nodded and got up as well, before looking at Danny. "I suggest you come with us. We shall discuss everything there."

Phantom smiled and followed the two out of the room. Unknowingly to each other, both nobles were observing each other. Danny knew of Dooku - the rogue Jedi who left the Order and seized his title on his homeworld. The Intelligence gave him only that information, because the Emperor didn't order to look deeper into the matter. And he undoubtedly will order such a thing. Another thing which interested the ghost is that he could sense the darkness within the old man. He had turned to the Dark Side, which meant he could stab in the back easily and without restraint.

Dooku meanwhile watched the white haired man. He appeared out of nowhere and the old man couldn't see a cloaking device on him. That was strange. Then the Sith payed attention to Phantom's general appearance. White hair, green eyes, certainly not hard to spot and remember. Actually, he recalled something about the Jedi chasing a kid around Coruscant, and the kid had a very similar appearance. Maybe it was a false assumption, the Galaxy was large. What was more confusing is how his Master was unaware that someone was steering a revolt. Well, maybe Sidius knew, just didn't tell his apprentice, Dooku won't be surprised.

"How many systems exactly did you mean?" He asked the ghost.

Danny hummed. "I meant sectors, Count. Mostly they are located on the edge of the Republic, where the officials won't get easily. That's about...fifteen-twenty sectors. Or at least their capitals. I have enough hired professional soldiers to stage coups. I just have to be sure that the Republic won't barge in with an army of their own."

They soon came back to the entrance hall, and the doors opened. While Danny leaned on the wall, and the Archduke ordered not to attack the young man, Dooku went forward to greet the newest arrivals.

First was a strange guy, with green skin and a cylindrical head. All his facial organs were covered by metal devices: glasses and the breathing mask made of gold colored metal. He was wearing blue robes, with a metal plate on his shoulders and neck. The Skakoan greeted the count and stood nearby. It was Wat Tambor, the foreman of the Techno Union - one of the biggest corporations of the Galaxy. Danny heard something about Kuat Driveyards breaking out of the Union. One of the biggest shipyards of the Republic won't be joining the party, apparently.

The next were several heads of corporations. San Hill, Chairman of the InterGalactic Banking Clan, meeting with whom was the last thing Phantom wanted, Passel Argente, the Magistrate of the Corporate Alliance; Tikkes of the Quarren Isolation League; Po Nudo of the Hyper-Communications Cartel and Shu Mai of the Commerce Guild.

The last one to enter was one of the biggest moneybags of the Galaxy. Nute Gunray, the Viceroy of the Trade Federation. He was a Neimoidian, fairly tall, in a dark orange robe and a tall orange hat, which looked a bit like Pope's. He had a grayish wrinkly skin, with oval red,eyes positioned horizontally, with a black line coming from one end to another. His stance alone told about the man's arrogance. His cowardice was also well known.

"Welcome, gentlemen, lady," Count Dooku greeted. "I trust the trip went well."

"Indeed, Count Dooku," San Hill said with a smile, bowing slightly.

The Muun was probably the tallest, if you don't count the Neimoidian's hat. He had a very thin build, dark gray skin and a tall head without ears, only hearing holes on its sides. His middle and pointing fingers were twice as long as his unnamed fingers, nothing out of ordinary for his kind.

"Let's get to business," Gunray said. Danny wondered if thinking that his accent was jewish was antisemitism. Then the Neimoidian's eye fell on the ghost leaning against the wall. "And who is the kid?"

Everyone looked at Danny, and the Chairman's was especially angry. "YOU!" He exclaimed.

Phantom shrugged and smiled offhandedly. "Are you still pissed off?"

"We have lost millions of credits because of you!"

"Uhm, Kalee payed the loan they took. Fully. How did you expect almost bankrupt planet to return it?"

Oh, they did have something, but the Muun wasn't going to tell.

"Let's not start arguments, dear friends," Dooku interrupted them. "Let us continue our conversation in the room."

San glared at the white haired ghost, but backed off nevertheless. The group went forward, and everyone kept occasionally glancing at the youngest member. Danny didn't pay attention to them, and they didn't ask him questions. They were passing an enormous underground factory, and Phantom was quite impressed. They were making droids as easily as paper planes.

Suddenly Gunray decided to start a conversation.

"Count, how long shall we wait until the plan will be set in motion."

"Commerce Guild and the Corporate Alliance must sign the treaty."

"And what about Senator Amidala? Is she still alive? I won't sign the trety until I get her head."

"Still sore that you were beaten by her with a tribe of aborigines?" Danny asked smugly with a smirk.

"No one gave you a word," Gunray snapped, sounding offended.

"I keep my promises, Viceroy," Dooku responded. "You will get it soon."

Then Wat Tambor spoke. "We have created new battle droids for you, Count Dooku. You will have the most powerful army in the Galaxy," he said in a deep metallic voice.

Phantom resisted a snort. The Empire had one billion of active soldiers and five more ready to be conscripted. And most of them were veterans of the conquest campaigns of their Emperor. How many droids exactly did they have? The group sat at the circular table, in a big lighted room with multiple red and yellow screens.

"As I've already said, I'm deeply convinced that more than ten thousand systems will join our cause if we get your support. Our sudden addition has promised the support of twenty more systems," Dooku gestured at Phantom.

"Moreover, I have something else to offer."

Suddenly Danny took out a tube out of nowhere, and put it on the table with a slamming sound. It was filled with a glowing green liquid, which kept swirling in its tight space. Everyone looked at it with curiosity.

"This is ectoplasm. It can be used in many ways. Batteries charged from it will keep the droids on their legs for a year. If used as fuel, the ship can go for twice as long as normal one. The best thing is, I've discovered a place where we can get an unlimited supply of it. Hence why it is much cheaper than the usual fuel. I'm offering to supply this movement with it."

"That's...impressive," Dooku commented. "Where did you get it?"

"Corporate secret. I'd like to keep a monopoly," Phantom said, noticing narrowed eyes of the Corporations' leaders. "Hey, I want to play my part, too."

"Your enthusiasm is appreciated," Dooku commented. "But can you supply enough?"

"Well, I'll tell later, because I don't know how many ships you've got. But it should be enough, I think."

Dooku nodded. "With combined efforts we will be able to defeat the Republic."

"What you are offering can be considered a treason," Shu Mai argued.

"I won't call it a treason," Phantom argued. "After all, the Republic is getting ready for the war as well."

"What do you mean?" Gunray asked.

"Well, why else they would need a few million higly trained clones?"

It earned several incredulous looks. Phantom leaned back in his seat. "It seems that the Republic knows about our little chat. Apparently, there is no going back now."

He then noticed some movement under the roof. Through the hole in the wall, he saw Obi-Wan peeking at them. What was he doing here? Danny looked straight into the man's wide eyes, but just looked away. He was not going to rat the Jedi out. Still, Phantom was now obviously a Separatist in his eyes. Poor guy didn't know the real truth about who Danny was in reality. The Emperor was interested in tearing the Republic to shreds as much as he could, before ordering his legions to bang down the door of the rotten building, and the civil war was a perfect way. A good scare for the leaders should be enough to unite them.

"Droi..." Tambor was about to speak, but his voice module malfunctioned. He fiddled with the device. "Droids are in your disposal, Count Dooku."

"Banking Clan will sign this treaty," San added.

"Good, we have already received the support from our friends from the Trade Federation. If we add yours to their battle droids, we will get the biggest army in the Galaxy. The Jedi will be defeated. Despite this...inconvenience," Dooku said, referring to the clones. "How many of them are ready?" He asked Phantom.

Danny HAD to get into the commanding circle. And he will do everything what's needed. Phantom glanced at Obi-Wan, but he was gone already. Oh, well.

"They have an accelerated growth, but they have to be grown nevertheless. Several battalions are ready, but that's it. Maybe they have vehicles and ships, that I don't know about. I doubt the latter are made on Kamino as well."

"Hm, I see."

"We must destroy them before they will be able to do anything," Tambor said.

"Patience, dear friends," Dooku responded. "First, let's sign this treaty already."

Poggle gave a comand to one of the Geonosians and the bug soon returned with a datapad. He handed it to the Count, who left the first insignia. He passed it to the next leader, who signed it as well. Danny was the last one. Everyone looked at him in confusion.

"What corporation do you represent?" Shu Mai asked.

Phantom was silent at first, but then answered. "IMC"

"We've never heard of it."

"I was subtle so far, and we aren't so big. You will find the cooperation with me most beneficial. And I just needed the way to sell all this stuff and get money. I bet most of the present are here for this same reason." Danny said, before leaving his signature. Again not seeing the narrowed eyes, or ignoring them. "Just change the text of the treaty and add my company there."

IMC was an abbreviature for Imperial Mining Corporation. But it's not like he couldn't rephrase its true name. The company was state run, and the ectoplasm excavation was one of its responsibilities. Phantom could easily send the ships filled with fuel to the Separatists without revealing the Empire's existence. And if he binds the entire war machine to his supply, soon he will get the absolute control over the entire movement. Hopefully no one will notice this detail of his true intentions. Yes, they could find a replacement for fuel, but who would pay more for less efficiency, especially that greedy bastards.

Then the leaders decided to create the Separatist Council. It was supposed to be the highest organ of rule in the movement, and Danny became its part, although it took some convincing. If he doesn't prove to be a valuable asset, he will be kicked out of the Council. Phantom wasn't worried. Hyperion alone was the biggest ship in the Galaxy, the Republic didn't have a ship at least one fifth of its length. Too sad it was only one of its kind. Count Dooku, as the one who brought them all together, was chosen as the Head of the future state. Phantom voted in favor of such decision. Actually, everyone voted in favor.

The meeting was over and everyone parted ways. They had other issues to discuss, so they just walked to their rooms. Danny heard how a Geonosian whispered something to the Archduke. His hearing caught what they said.

"Sir, we have caught the Jedi."

"What?"

"He was taken into custody and locked in the interrogation room."

"Good, inform Count Dooku. I think he will be interested."

Phantom froze. Unless there was another Jedi within the hive building, it could only be Ben. Just great. Before he could turn invisible and free the captive, his communicator beeped. Danny found more or less secure spot and activated the hologram.

"My Lord," Keeper bowed. "I have important news."

"Make it quick."

The Head of Intelligence coughed. "Chancellor Palpatine is granted emergency rights. He proclaimed the creation of the Grand Army of the Republic."

"I fail to see what's 'grand' in sending an army of slaves into fight," Phantom muttered. "I want to know about every word said in the Senate before it even leaves the building."

"Understood, Your Majesty. I'll inform our agents."

Danny turned off the communicator and saw the Geonosian guard passing nearby. He quickly hid the device. The insectoid looked at him strangely.

"Quit staring," Phantom said.

The Geonosian blinked and walked off. Now, the ghost needed to find his more or less friend. He turned invisible and started searching. Danny cursed several times while wolking around the labyrinthine corridors. But finally he found the required room, or so he thought. Phantom phased inside, and he was right. Obi-Wan was hanging in a low gravity field, not able to move because of energy shackles. He seemed to be deeply in thought. Danny looked around for any cameras, and finding none, he became visible.

"Hm, awkward situation, isn't it?" He asked.

Obi-Wan's head snapped in his direction. "I thought you were better than this."

"Better than what?" Danny responded sarcastically. "Fighting for the people?"

"You are not fighting for the people, you are fighting for the corporate leaders."

"I'm not doing it for them, Ben. At least here the citizens will have any chance. The Senate is corrupt, they had turned the edge planets into raw materials' source. I want to help them, and I doubt that the Trade Federation is going to lose its place in the government. It's a big question on whose side they are. "

"If you came here to try to convince me to join, then you are losing your time. Dooku has already tried."

Danny raised his eyebrow and the field was shut down. Obi-Wan fell on the ground, but got up quickly. He stared at Phantom, who hadn't moved on an inch, with wide eyes.

"The guards outside are knocked out. I'd suggest you get out of here as fast as you can. Ta!"

To the Jedi's shock, Phantom disappeared in front of his eyes. This guy never ceased to surprise him, both physically and mentally. And he was too damn unpredictable.

Danny tried to get as far as he could as fast as he could. No one was going to suspect him if he was in the other end of the building. And no one suspected him when everyone found out about the escape. Danny didn't know where Ben was, but the ship he used was severely damaged, and under heavy guard.

The next meeting was supposed to concern the organizational questions. Phantom chose planet Hoth as the main secret storage of the ectoplasmical fuel. It wasn't far from Imperial positions, but enough not to reveal anything, and completely uninhabited by sentient beings, except for several tribes of primitive Talz. Funnily, the planetary name lied, it was cold as heck, even if not for the Emperor. Count Dooku was still very confident about the worlds who will join, so they managed to draw the supply line from one end to another.

After the meeting Danny was walking through the corridors, where he was allowed, of course. He didn't want to offend the owner. Suddenly Phantom saw a familiar face and smiled.

"Hey, Boba, what are you doing here?"

The boy jumped and turned in his direction. "Hey...My father just needed to come here and he took me."

"The Galaxy is too small," Danny's smile became dreamy.

"And what are you doing here?"

"You are speaking with a member of the Separatist Council, boy," Phantom said, parodying Gunray's tone. Boba got the reference and snickered, before remembering something.

"How is Danielle?" He asked. Last time he saw her she was in the worst condition.

"Oh, she is alright now. More than ever, I think."

Suddenly he heard a flapping of the wings. Danny looked to the side and saw a Geonosian approaching. He said something to Phantom, something only two of them understood. The locals had already guessed that he understood their language without the protocol droid. Boba only blinked. The Geonosian then flew off.

"What did he say?" The boy asked.

"He said that Poggle the Lesser invites us for the grand execution. And he didn't care to tell me where to go."

"There is an arena. We should probably go there, I know where it is."

Phantom decided to follow him, it wasn't like he had any choice. As they went through the corridors, Danny felt a foreign presence.

"Uhm, Boba, wait here for a moment, please."

Boba looked at him strangely, but nodded. Phantom went into a small corridor, already hearing the sounds of the crowd's cheers. There were small slits in the walls, through which the daylight was coming. Danny heard a rustle behind one of the columns.

"I recall asking you to get away, Ben," Danny deadpanned. The Jedi flinched and looked out from his hiding spot.

"Thank you for that, by the way, but I can't leave."

"Why?"

"Well, for starters, my ship is a pile of junk by now. Second, they caught Anakin and Padme, who, apparently, came here to save me."

"And who are they?"

"Anakin is my Padawan. I don't understand why he brought Senator Amidala with him. He was tasked with protecting her."

"Alright, alright, calm down."

"I am calm."

Danny just raised his hands in surrender. "I take it they are the ones to be executed. Poor fellows."

He then sighed. "Fine, I'll do what I can, but I'm not going out there, lightsaber blazing. You, meanwhile, stay close to the events."

Obi-Wan nodded. Phantom was younger than him, but he spoke reasonable things. Too sad he was on the enemy side.

Danny returned to Boba and they continued their way. Apparently, they got the very respectable positions on the main tribune. There were Nute Gunray and his minion, along with Count Dooku, Archduke Poggle and Jango Fett. So they were buddies. Weird. The man was either a double crossing bastard or...they were on the same side. But then, how could Dooku not know about the clone army? Maybe Fett was being paid by both sides and kept secrets of each. Shaking the thoughts into a corner of his metaphorical mind, Danny stood on the tribune, greeting everyone present and smirking at Jango's slightly surprised expression. Neither said anything, however.

The arena was enormous, the tribunes were filled to the brim, fitting thousands of Geonosians, some were even flying because there wasn't any place. All of them were cheering loudly. The doors on the arena opened and the prisoners were brought in on a chariot. One of them was a young man, with short brown hair and blue eyes, wearing black and brown Jedi robes. Near him was a young woman, with brown hair and eyes, who wore a tight white suit. They both were chained.

The pair was brought to the two pillars in the center, before they were tied to the stone structures.

Poggle stepped forward.

"Calm down! Calm down!" He said loudly and somehow everyone heard it and followed the request. "Now, let the execution begin!"

The crowd cheered loudly again as the gates in two different ends of the stadium opened. From the first jumped a very hungry Nexu. Why hungry? It ate the Geonosian who let it out. The other one was Acklay.

The Acklay was a three-eyed amphibious non-sentient creature. Despite its crustacean-like nature, Acklay also had characteristics possessed by reptiles, such as their powerful jaws filled with sharp teeth. The acklay had a tough, leathery skin of the green color, another trait from its reptilian heritage. Its belly was more vulnerable than other parts of its body, as the white flesh covering it was not as tough as it was elsewhere. The Acklay had a bony crest around its neck, used for both intimidation and protection. It also possessed six deadly claws, used for both pinning an opponent in combat or slicing them. Its limbs were long, allowing it to strike at enemies from a distance.

It looked very angry, but didn't dare to attack the Geonosians. Nevertheless, the creatures were forced to go forward, closer to the captives.

"A strange tradition," Danny said.

Poggle looked up at the taller man. "We have been executing our enemies this way for millennias."

"I understand, Archduke, and I didn't mean to offend. I just don't understand the purpose. You spend money for a show, but I doubt that there is much to look at when they are tied up. Those predators are going to eat them without even choking."

"It is still more entertaining than watching the head being cut off," the Geonosian grumbled, looking away.

"I wouldn't underestimate the Jedi, my friend," Dooku added. "Even if it is an amateur like Skywalker."

Danny shrugged, before crossing his hands. He got an idea what to do, but he had to wait for the right moment. The Acklay approached Anakin, while the Nexu was circling around Padme's pillar. Suddenly, the latter started to climb up the pillar after freeing one hand and using the chain as an assistance. Lockpicking, what a strange skill to have for a Senator.

When Acklay was about to strike Anakin, his chains suddenly snapped into pieces. The Jedi jumped to the side and avoided the strike. No one noticed a surprised look on Anakin's face as well as the tiny smirk on Phantom's. Now, where was Ben...

Padme was fighting back the feline predator from the pillar's top, using the chain as a whip. Nexu didn't like it and kept attempting to climb. Finally, he managed to scrath her back with its long claws. She screamed in pain and fell on her knees, thankfully the pillar was wide enough to ait on it. Gunray clenched his fists and snickered evilly and happily, like a kid who scratched the neighbor's car. Amidala meanwhile used the chain as the swing, jumping down, accelerating and hitting the feline with her legs. It worked very well.

"Ugh, she can't do that, shoot her!" Gunray demanded.

"Go ahead," Danny responded, offering him a blater to do at least something himself. Jango thought it looked too much like his own...wait.

He snatched the blaster from Danny's hand and put it back in its holster, glaring at the ghost. Phantom only chuckled. Some could think that he was insane for provoking the most dangerous people of the Galaxy, but he wasn't doing it for no reason.

Meanwhile Obi-Wan was inside one of the rooms where the animals were kept. He quickly slashed the Geonosians guarding them. At first the Jedi only wanted to get to the arena through this room. Suddenly he saw a rhinoceros like creature, with thick red and gray skin, with three horns - one above the nose and one from each cheek. Obi-Wan grinned as the crazy idea came into his mind.

Danny observed how Anakin was having a hard time without any weapon. He looked at the Geonosian guard near one of the gates, who was holding a pike. Picking the right moment, so it would look like Anakin did it, Phantom pulled the pike from the insectoid's grasp and right near the Jedi. Skywalker picked it and threw the pike at the beast, not having time to think about how it got there. Danny just loved his advanced telekinesis, which allowed to move objects without waving his hand. The pike stuck in the Acklay's skin, but the creature only took it out with its jaw and snapped it in half.

Anakin decided to resort to another plan. Jumping away from another stab and jumped on the creature's back, wrapping the chain around its neck. The Acklay cried in pain, and tried to shake him off. Suddenly, from one of the gates ran Obi-Wan, riding the rhinoceros. On a huge speed the being rammed into Nexu, either killing it or knocking the feline out. He then rode to get rid of the Acklay.

"Archduke Poggle, do you accept bets around here?" Danny asked.

The Geonosian shook his head in negative. It sounded like a good idea, however.

"I take my words back, Count. They are full of surprises, indeed," Phantom chuckled.

"Your enthusiasm seems to be misplaced here," Dooku commented.

"What can I say, I enjoy a good show. It makes me feel like a Roman Emperor."

No one decided to comment this. The guy seemed way too eccentric, they all decided. They were right, actually, but better let them think he was only that.

They watched as the prisoners jumped on the rhino, preparing to ride away.

"This can't be happening!" Gunray exclaimed. "Jango, go kill her!"

"Patience, Viceroy, she will definitely die," Dooku said in reassurance.

As he said this, about eight droids rolled out on the arena. They looked like metal wheels, but when they surrounded the group, they stood on small legs, pointing their built in blasters at them. Phantom started to think how to get them out of that situation, but then he heard the sound of an activated lightsaber. Danny, as well as everyone else, saw how Windu was holding the purple lightsaber near Jango's throat.

"Master Windu," Dooku said in a welcoming tone. "How nice of you to step in."

"Your plan has failed."

As he said that, across the entire arena sounded whirring noises, as many Jedi got out from their covers. The unarmed Geonosians started to flee.

"Brave, but really foolish, my old Jedi friend," Dooku commented. "You are severely outnumbered."

"I don't think so."

But then everyone heard clanking sounds coming through the corridor. Two droids approached. They had oval faces built into their torso, with built in blasters in their hands as well. The droids were made from gray shiny metal, and gave an impression of a very muscular figure. They fired at the Jedi, but he deflected several shots. Then Phantom decided to step in and simply swiped his leg and hit Mace's. The Jedi stumbled, not being able to resist the strength, added to the factor of surprise. He only needed a push over the edge, and Danny did just that. Mace fell on the arena, but landed on his legs. The Jedi could fall from considerable heights without any harm.

"Impressive," Dooku commented with a raised eyebrow.

"Never liked this guy, anyway," Danny shrugged.

The battle continued, the Jedi were fighting down there, against hundreds of droids which kept coming from the entrances. There was just so many of them. Phantom decided against interfering unless it was needed. And despite the fact that each Jedi was probably taking down at least fifty of the weak clankers, thank goodness HK wasn't with him at the moment, the numbers were overwhelming, and they were surrounded. HK would have already started the massacre for killing his fellow machines. Especially since the droid wrote a guide about fifty ways of killing the Jedi. Danny thought it was a masterpiece and it needed to be kept in only one exemplar in order to save many lives.

Suddenly one of the Knights jumped on their tribune, but before anyone could even blink, Jango shot him in his chest. The corpse fell over the edge and the mercenary rolled his blaster in cowboy fashion, before putting it back. Dooku smirked slightly and looked down again. Jango decided to finish Windu himself, so he used his jetpack to fly down. Several blasts reached the tribune, and while Viceroy was flinching and trying to duck from every shot, Phantom and Dooku weren't worried, well, the first one was worried for the boy nearby. Boba was leaning over the edge in curiousity, also not being afraid of the blaster bolts everywhere.

Jango was trying to fight the Jedi, but first he was almost ran over by the rhinoceros. It didn't step on him, but his jetpack started to sparkle. Then, when the animal ran at him again, Jango aimed and fired at its mouth, killing the creature immediately. It fell forward at him by inertia, but the man jumped to the side. The Bounty Hunter was immediately attacked by Windu. He kept firing, but the Jedi's purple lightsaber deflected them all. When he got dangerously close, Jango attempted to fly away, but the jetpack malfunctioned, he didn't fly anywhere and the blade reached his neck. In the next second, the mercenary's head flew off.

Phantom's eyes widened, before he looked at Boba. The boy, who saw all of what had happened, was silent. He only stared at the scene, not believing his own eyes. Danny only put a reassuring hand on the boy's shoulder, but he didn't react.

Finally all the Jedi were forced into the center. But when the droids were about to fire, Dooku stopped them.

"Master Windu," the Count spoke loudly. "You have shown the courage worth of being written down in the Jedi history. But now, it is over. Surrender, and we will spare your lives."

"We will never deal with you, Dooku," Windu said the old man's name like it was an insult.

"Sad. I'm terribly sorry, my old friend."

The droids pointed their weapons at the Jedi again. Then Phantom heard a loud whirring noise, and not only him. Out of nowhere, the entire fleet appeared above them. They had a shape similar to the Star Destroyers, but with more smooth edges. They were painted in red and white. A squadron of what looked like shuttles descended, firing at every droid they saw. Inside of them were troopers in white plastoid armor, which somehow resembled the Stormtroopers'. The shuttles landed around the Jedi, creating a wall berween them and the droids. They were running inside them, evacuating immediately and killing a lot of machines in the process.

It happened quickly, and in less than half a minute the ships were flying away. Count Dooku watched as they flew away, before turning around and walking off.

"It's time I set everything in motion, isn't it?" Phantom asked.

"Yes, it is," Dooku responded, without turning back and continuing his path.

Danny looked at Boba, but didn't find him there. Phantom looked around and saw him down on the arena. How did he get there so quickly? Seeing that no one was looking, Danny jumped down and hovered a few inches from the ground, before stepping on it softly. Boba was sitting near his father's helmet. He picked it and held the thing in his hands. Danny came closer quietly and heard a quiet sob.

"I'm sorry it happened like this," he said.

"This Jedi killed him!" Boba exclaimed.

"I know. But it comes with his occupation, doesn't it?"

Boba was silent, hugging the helmet close to his chest. There were no tears, even if the boy was ready to cry.

"Do you know what you are going to do now?" Phantom asked.

"Why do you care?" Boba snapped.

"Because you are a good kid. I know how it feels to be without the one who cares about you."

"I...maybe I should return to Kamino."

"Bad idea. Now, when the clone facilities are essential for the Republic, they won't leave it unguarded. And I doubt they will take kindly to you."

Boba was silent, trying to think up something else. "Father had a bank account on Aargau. There should be five hundred thousand credits."

"I see..."

"You are not going to do anything, right?"

"Oh, I will. I can get Jango's ship for you. Dooku is currently in its possession, but I can be persistent."

"Thanks...I guess."

Danny knew what Boba was going to do next. "You want to kill Windu."

"I do. He will pay for this," the boy said through gritted teeth, clenching his fist.

"It won't do any good, kid. Revenge is not like that, I repeat this speech for the second time. You will feel nasty afterwards."

"I don't care."

Danny sighed. He didn't have that much influence on the boy to change his mind. And forcing him wasn't going to add points. But it didn't mean he couldn't help him.

"Hey," Boba looked up at the young man. "Take this," he handed the boy a communicator. "If you need something, just call. Now, your father needs burial. Common now."

While the two were talking, several miles away was transpiring the first battle of what will be known as the Clone Wars


	35. Chapter XXXV: First skirmishes

If any plan worked like the one Phantom had accomplished in the Outer Rim, the entire Galaxy would have been his before he was even born. While the other Separatists were only about to proclaim independence from the Republic, the planets he had set his foot on flocked to the rebellion. It happened too quickly, and the officials just couldn't get how it was possible. One day Phantom was on the South, in a few hours he and his mercenaries, aka division of the First Legio were banging down the doors of the planetary administration on the North.

Komand took part, too, fighting with the Death Troopers and HK on the less important worlds. The population was mostly supportive of them, but the rest of the Republic bared witness to the power of who seemed to be the Jedi. Since this revolts were the first, they caused an additional uproar on Coruscant. The Jedi were disliked already, and after they learnt that not only the former Jedi Dooku led the separatists, but another two Jedi were conquering the worlds, the gunpowder keg ignited.

The Order had to explain everything to the public, and Danny had a lot of fun observing everything from above, invisible and unnoticed. But despite how well the revolt went, he was still the Emperor of now the largest state of the Galaxy. The worlds he brought under the unknown Imperial protectorate became sort of the trade hubs. The people were happy that the goods weren't going to Coruscant but were exchanged there. However, what they didn't know was where the exchanged goods went. Danny ordered to only use droids for the trade, because someone could have lousy lips.

All in all, both on the North and on the South Phantom was renowned as the temporary Dictator of that regions. No one but the Republican Media complained. And immediately afterwards he officially pledged his support for the CIS. Confederacy of Independent Systems was a united government of all planets which were previously supporting the Separatist movement. The revolting sectors formed the Separatist Senate. And Phantom, not only as the corporate leader, but also as the ruler of several planets, got a seat in the Senate. He didn't occupy it personally, sending a representative there, namely Komand. She was surprised and unwilling, but Danny managed to convince her. In reality, he just wanted to keep his beloved as far from the battlefield as possible, since he finally got an opportunity to do so.

The situation was stable. Stable because both sides had an equal power and potential, but it was going to change soon. The battles were limited to the small skirmishes at the moment, while both states were busy rallying their forces. There were exceptions: Admiral Trench attacked the Republican world of Cristophsis. And Phantom was going to play his part in the war, too. As soon as he got reinforcements, Danny commenced an attack on the nearest system. It happened to be Eriadu.

Trench was the one who annoyed Phantom. So, the moneybags COULD use their employees, and he couldn't use his!

Eriadu served as the capital of the Seswenna sector and was situated at the intersection of theRimma Trade route, the Hydian Way, theLipsec Run and theYankirk Route. The situation there was quite bothersome. The planet sided with the Republic and could become a stronghold if not taken immediately, but now they were surrounded from each side by the forces of the Confederacy. Eriadu was an industrial powerhouse. Filled with the factories to the brim, with extremely polluted atmosphere and nature in general. All that factories could be used for the Droid production. Or something Phantom would need to fight autonomously, without relying on supplies from the corporations.

And speaking of which, the ectoplasmic fuel was giving Danny a lot of money. Unlike the other companies' leaders, Phantom didn't actually need to expand the influence of IMC. He expanded his own influence on the Galaxy. The money went on making the lives of the people better. People not only saw that Phantom was their savior, no, this authocrat managed to do what elected leaders couldn't. Danny needed to keep the war out of that planets.

The war campaign was being planned by the War Council for several years, taking and using every tiny bit of information they had. The Clone Wars were going to be a battle reconnaissance. The Imperials were going to learn about every hole in the Republic's defense, in order to exploit them later. Blitzkrieg at its finest.

CIS lacked an officer crew. They lacked admirals and they lacked generals. So, Phantom came up with an initiative. If the members of the Confederacy, their leaders deemed a person worthy of taking the position, they could assume it. Dooku questioned the decision, because there could be traitors within the ranks. Then the representative of Baktoid Combat Automata offered the solution. They made a special kind of droids, Tactical ones. The droids had the advanced algorithms, making them quite smart for the clankers. Many liked this decision, they didn't need to be paid, but Danny was not happy.

Phantom couldn't do anything about it. Military issues were the responsibility of the Separatist Council. That greedy fools weren't interested in finishing the war. They needed money. Danny also couldn't complain to the Senate, when he had no reputation it could only make him look pathetic. It seemed that the ghost would have to work along with stupid machines for the time being. HK was an exception, he had a character, was trustworthy and extremely smart for the droid. Granted, he was a bloodthirsty maniac, but it was at least something.

Returning to the matter at hand, Phantom gazed down at the gray planet. The plan of conquest was all the same, bomb, land, take over the key cities. Besides having enough droids given to him from the CIS, Danny had the First Legio with him. He was going to use the Stormtroopers from time to time to fix the holes in the frontline. The entire war was going to be a battle of quality against quantity. Extremely cheap and stupid rustbuckets against clones trained from birth and brainwashed into serving the Republic. Each side needed its own tactic.

Then the ship got a slight shake as the wave of turbolaser shots flew at them. The Republic got to the system faster than them. They too saw the grave importance of Eriadu. Phantom turned to the tactical droid. It only played the role of an assistant. The machine was about the same height, with rectangular flat head. It was painted in blue, with a white insignia of CIS on its chest.

"Take the loose formation and fire at will!" Phantom commanded. "And do NOT approach them, they will eliminate us on point blank range!"

"Roger, roger."

The droid sent the message to the small fleet of the Confederacy ships. There were ten of them, and all were deemed pathetic by the Emperor in disguise. Thrawn examined them, too, and came to the same conclusion. Skeletal structure created a lot of weak joints, if hit, the entire construction could collapse. There was a reason Imperial and Republican Star Destroyers had a triangular shape, it allowed them to wield a tremendous firepower, especially in comparison to the frigates used by Confederacy. And he had to work with ten against eighteen heavily armed Republican Venators.

They, as was previously mentioned, had a dagger shape, but unlike the Imperial ships, their double bridge was positioned too high, and there was a huge hanger in the central deck which could close and open. And speaking of, they were opened and several squadrons flew out at them. Phantom commanded to send all droid fighters they've got. He was sad Thrawn wasn't there. They were tremendously outgunned. Danny couldn't get a Providence. And Hyperion was a trump card he wasn't ready to use.

As the fight broke out, Phantom rubbed his chin, standing at the window.

"Sir, there is a transmission," The tactical droid said.

"I swear, if it's another bolstering idiot..." Danny muttered. "Bring it."

The image wasn't holographic, it was an image on the special screen. The man on the other side was wearing a gray Republican uniform, had a face with a militaristic air about him. He was a human, with gray eyes and brown hair. He looked to be around his thirties.

"This is just insulting," he said, "Not only they send an inferior fleet, they send a child to command it!"

Phantom liked that everyone underestimated him. It made them reckless.

"Nevermind, it IS a bolstering idiot," he commented. "Is there a reason you are distracting me?"

"Why you...I'm ordered to offer you a surrender."

"Is that all? I didn't have my coffee today, and I'm feeling grumpy. What's your name at least?"

"I am Gideon Tarkin, the Captain of the Eriadu space defense, and you are not getting on my planet! Fifty Republican ships will arrive soon."

"We'll see about that."

The transmission was over. Danny fixed the axelbant on his uniform, watching the transpiring battle. They had fewer fighters, losing the only superiority. Then he saw a squadron flying towards his bridge. About thirty fighters. Phantom outstretched his white gloved arm and swiped it like the annoying flies were bugging him. The ships flew in the midst of dogfighting. They were shot down by the Vulture droids and accidentally by their own comrades. Danny smirked.

"Alright, playtime is over," he said.

Venators moved forward. Their intention was obvious: their most powerful batteries were located on their sides, and they seeked to fire like in a sea battle of the XVIII century. Phantom commanded to use the most powerful forward batteries, as they were of any use. Four Munificent frigates were required to outgun the Venator. So that's what Danny did, he was trying to wound them as much as possible. He concentrated fire on the certain ships. Still, five enemy ships were approaching, and even three would have been enough.

"What do we know about Gideon?"

The tactical droid looked into the datapad. "He has been a Security Minister of the planet before. He was born..."

"That's all I need."

Tarkin was not an admiral, he wasn't going to realize the bait. Danny also needed to get rid of the enemy fighters.

"Order the Vultures to fly above the cruiser in front of us, taking evasive maneuvers."

"Sir, they aren't able to harm the ship efficiently."

"Follow. The order."

The droid nodded and sent the command. Ignoring the fighters piloted by the clones, the Vultures made an abrupt turn and flew where they were ordered to. Their peculiar feature was that there weren't any pilots inside, the fighters themselves were the droids. Everything went just as he planned, the clones started to pursuit them, but when they were above their own ships, an invisible force pulled them downwards. Venator couldn't stand such a massive projectile bombardment. One down, more to go.

Gideon was conflicted about what to do. He realized that that bastard could pull of something else with that Jedi tricks. But he never knew about someone who could do that. Sending fighters was a suicide, it was like throwing ammo at the enemy. But what choice did he have? Fighting with only laser cannons? They couldn't destroy the entire swarm. Phantom waited just that. The weakest point of the Venators - their bridges, was bombarded with fighters from both sides. The ion cannons weakened the shields, making the ships more vulnerable to such attacks. Soon the attacking force was beaten, turned into a space debris. The Separatist fleet was mostly smoking, some were even burning. Fire brigades were sent to extinguish the flames.

Danny smirked. He didn't care for Vulture droids, and he knew history, which could teach a lot. Kamikaze strikes rained at the opponent. Not entirely, but at least enough to wound them. The numbers of the Republican ships were thinning, but so did the Separatists', even if at slower rate. Now there were eight ships on each side.

"Start the deployment as we have planned," he commanded.

"Sir..."

"We are losing the soldiers along with the ships. If we keep fighting, we won't have enough to troops to conquer the planet. Send them down."

Phantom got up from his seat and walked off to the shuttles. He couldn't show his teleportation just yet. Once in the elevator, Phantom's comm beeped. Danny activated it and Komand's image came into view.

"Hello there, beautiful, how is your day?" He grinned.

"Could be better," she grumbled. "I'm not into politics."

"I know. But it would be hard to find someone more proper."

She reddened slightly at the praise. "At least you get all the fun."

The ship shook. "What's going on?" Komand asked worriedly.

"Just a little nuisance got a lucky shot at this rustbucket of the ship. No worries, the situation is adequate."

"if you say so..."

Danny chuckled. He won't say it, but she looked so cute when she was worried. "So, why do you call?"

"The Senate plans to start the vote on the taxation. It's either centralized economy or the other way around. You know more about that than me."

"Well, being centralized will help the Confederacy. But if money stay here, it will be better for us. Vote for the last one."

"Alright. Stay safe out there," she smiled.

"You, too."

Danny turned off the communicator and went to the hangers as some light metal parts of the ceiling fell on him. Munificent-class frigates didn't have living quarters, so the Death Troopers were stationed in improvised ones. The furry members of the squad were the most adaptable. At seeing their Emperor, they all stood up. There were fifty of them. They were veterans of wars, and fighting against the local militia should be a piece of cake for them.

"Soldiers," Danny called, "You are tasked with an important mission for the Empire."

He wasn't worried about someone hearing them, no one understood the language he was speaking on if he didn't want to.

"Yes, this is not a capital of the Republic, sadly, but nonetheless you are fighting for the future even now. You are fighting against amateurs, but don't let it get into your heads. The cornered animal is the most dangerous. I value the lives of every soldier. There are only five hundred of you - the most talented soldiers of the Empire. Now show them what the best of the Imperials are capable of!"

The soldiers hit their black armored chests with their fists, causing a rumbling sound to erupt. Phantom smiled and got down in front of the squad. Most of the soldiers were eager for the fight, not fearing at all. Danny approached one of them, putting a hand on his shoulder. The soldier wore a helmet, so the face was hidden behind it.

"I put high hopes in you, Centurion, do not prove them futile."

The soldier hit the chest again and bowed. "I'll do my best, My Lord."

The Death Troopers were the Emperor's personal part of the army, along with the First Legio, so he was free to do what he pleased. Including own ranks, taken from Roman military.

"Good, act according to plan, I will join you shortly."

They were ordered to move inside the assault ship.The C-9979 was an elegantly designed transport manufactured by Haor Chall Engineering and was controlled by a central computer. The Death Troopers quickly put on their helmets, took up their weapons and hurried into the ship in an organized formation. Years of drills were showing up. Once they were inside and started to descend to the surface, Phantom turned around and hurried to the bridge.

The battle was still going, and Danny ordered to give cover to the landing ships. It was difficult, because Munificent were designed for straight shooting, not from its sides, even if they did have batteries there. Another idea sparked in the current commander's mind.

"Were all the landing crafts sent down?"

"Yes, sir," the droid nodded. "Three quarters have reached the ground."

"Good. Now send the most damaged ship forward."

"Sir, there will be reinforcements for the Republic. We cannot sacrifice our ships so inefficiently."

"Send it to ram the Venator. And if you question my order again, I'll shut you down."

The droid complied with the order and sent it forward. Back on the Republican cruiser Gideon watched the action.

"He is a madman!" The officer exclaimed. "Take the evasive action, all power to the thrusters!" He ordered to the clone assistant.

At seeing this a devilish fanged grin appeared on the stark haired man's face. Poor human was not an admiral. They turned away and accelerated on big speed. They won't be able to stop at the right moment, all Danny had to do was to push the ship a bit forward. That's exactly what he did. Venator couldn't slow down as it was turned slightly to the other ship. Phantom moved his hand slowly, even for him such a task was quite a feat. The flagship hit the other Venator's bridge and hit it off with a massive explosion. The flagship itself survived the ordeal.

Gideon got up slowly after the shake.

"Sir, we have a transmission from the planet," the clone said.

The officer only nodded. On the hologram appeared the man who had similar traits to him. He had auburn hair and blue eyes.

"What's going on, Gideon? All I see is you hitting your own ships!"

"Oh, yes? Well, I'd like to see what you will be able to do, Wilhuff. This Jedi tears down everything by moving his hand!"

"AND there is about million of droids on the ground! Do something, we won't be able to hold them for long."

The communication ended and the Republican officer turned to the clone crew. "Connect me with Master Koth this instant."

Soon the Zabrak Jedi, with brown skin and eyes, raven hair and multiple small horns appeared.

"What's wrong commander?" He asked.

"When the hell are you going to arrive? We are about to be destroyed!"

"What?"

"You tell me why!" The ship shook again. "You are the Jedi here!"

"We need two more hours. Retreat immediately if you want to keep your fleet intact."

Phantom watched how the Republican ships were turning away and jumping into hyperspace and blinked. He didn't expect them to flee. The guy was overdramatizing, he had a chance of winning.

"Awe, I wanted to blow up someone else. Droid, report."

"We have only five ships left, severely damaged. Three quarters of our fighters are lost."

"Yeah, nasty occasion. Will we get any reinforcements?"

"Count Dooku commanded to send you forty ships, including the newest models."

"Just great, we are doomed. Stay here and maintain the formation. Fix everything you can."

Danny turned around and left the room. Eriadu had to fall, because later it would become a thorn in the Confederacy's side. After putting on his battle robes in a split second, he vanished and reappeared on the surface, with nasty looking sky at the spots where the smoke from factories wasn't present. If Danny had to breath, it would have been bad for his health. Now Phantom needed to find his soldiers, checking up on the droid army as well. They were marching towards the headquarters of Eriadu Manufacturing, the biggest company on the planet. The clones were putting the resistance, but they were severely outgunned.

Number superiority allowed to attack from different sides and come to the flanks. It was something most of the Separatist generals didn't get. Needless to say that the victory was going to follow. But just to be sure, Phantom ordered to bomb the reinforced positions. Hyena bombers appeared in the sky and started firing proton torpedoes. Laser batteries opened fire and Phantom understood his next target.

Meanwhile the Death Troopers had another order. They needed to take the Governor's palace, cutting off any leadership. Centurion took the binocular and looked at the surroundings. Clones were patrolling the building, and there were several blind spots he could use to get in. But just to be sure...

"Disable the cameras in the eastern wing," Centurion ordered.

To the outsider it could seem like they were talking in the series of hisses, interrupted by radio interference. But inside the helmets were special transmitters, and the Death Troopers understood each other perfectly. One of the operatives took out an EMI device and followed the order. It sent a magnetic impulse towards the network of cables, disrupting it in the process. Of course, it called the required attention. The clones started to move there. Once the moment was right, Centurion raised his hand.

"Now, to the western wing, move."

Of course, they were noticed by the functioning cameras, but the clones were on a distance, giving the Death Troopers a chance to get inside and take cover inside the building. Shooting in the backs was dishonorable, but practical. The Clones didn't expect to be fired at from behind. Several thermal detonators flew forward and the entire front yard was ruined. Some survivors hid into covers and opened responding fire. Red and blue blasts flew across the yard, hitting mostly the clones. Trained from birth or not, the hardened veterans were superior even to them. And even if the white armored soldiers hit the Death Troopers, it was mostly non vital.

The Imperial soldiers went further inside the building, eliminating any obstacles on their way. Suddenly they found a clone with minigun in the opposite end of the corridor.

"Eat laser, scumbags!" He shouted.

He kept firing, forcing the Death Troopers to hide behind the corner. There were ten of them, other ten had choosen another corridor, and they were seemingly out of grenades. Centurion tapped on the wall with his finger. It seemed to be very thin, which meant there could be a room behind it.

"Bring this wall down," he ordered, turning to one man in particular.

His subordinate unrolled the special device, which looked like a small wall rug. The troops stepped aside as it blew up, taking the wall with itself. Confused, the clone with minigun stopped shooting, not being able to see the ordeal. Centurion went inside the newly formed hole.

"You two, stay here and distract him, others, follow me."

The soldiers complied. Two remaining troopers fired occasionally from their cover, and the clone kept responding. Centurion and the others went through the conference room, which was empty at the moment, before they exited on the other side. The leader carelessly took out the blaster pistol and shot the guy with minigun on his way. Then he took the rifle again. It was X-181, the gun wasn't for mass production, only for commandos. It could shoot both like a machine gun and a long range rifle, which could get an enemy from a ten mile distance.

They moved forward, before stopping near the door. At the Centurion's command, one of the operatives took out the tiny device not bigger than a holocommunicator. He slid the device through the vent. Small legs came from it and the small droid ran inside. Soon all the Death Troopers saw a infrared vision of who was inside. Centurion counted till three with his fingers, before banging down the door of the command room. It was big, with many officers inside. Some clones managed to take out the blasters, but were killed immediately.

The clones on the platform above were shooting down, but the Death Troopers took covers. Suddenly the clones' guns flung out of their hands. Some clung tighter to them, and because of that they fell ten meters down with the cries. Suddenly from the door barged other ten Imperial soldiers and started shooting. Then the pause fell as both sides prepared for another round, hiding in the covers. And everyone heard a slow sarcastic clapping.

"Hm, it took longer than expected, I must say."

Everyone looked up and saw the silhouette of the Confederate leader on the platform, emitting the dim light. Phantom grinned fangily down at the governor and the remaining soldiers. He made a step forward and levitated down, the edges of his robes flowing with the air. The Republicans were in shock and awe.

"Alright, who is Governor Tarkin here? Oh, what am I talking about, there is only one guy who is not a clone."

"Yes, it's me," Wilhuff stepped forward. "And just what are you planning to do, boy?"

"I'm not a boy, I'm twenty four," Danny deadpanned, as his shoulders sank. "Anyways, good job, Centurion, you guys are getting a pay raise!" He called to his subordinates, who were still behind the covers, not worried at all about the Emperor's safety.

"And you are Phantom," Tarkin said. "You leave quite an impression."

Danny smirked.

"An impression of immature amateur."

The smirk fell. "And you are a grumpy old man. Even Dooku is more welcoming."

"A little lapdog is sure to say this," Phantom heard some clone saying.

They jumped at how fast the young man's head snapped in his direction. "I'm no one's lapdog," Danny moved his hand a bit and the blaster bolt hit the clone dead on.

When his brothers wanted to respond, they lost their weapons immediately. Phantom whistled innocently.

"Damn Jedi," Tarkin growled.

"Neither I am a Jedi. Just a man who fights for what he believes is right."

Tarkin looked at where the enemy soldiers were. "These men are not mercenaries."

"Oh, so you noticed? Yeah, Death Troopers have been fighting together for years. And their loyalty to me is unquestionable. Anyways, are you going to surrender? Please, say yes, I really need my coffee now."

"Then I think you will have to stay without it."

Phantom sighed. "Oh, nothing can stand between me and coffee."

He snapped his fingers, knocking the Republicans out. Fixing the collar of his robes, Danny looked at the Death Troopers. "Stay here and clean the building. And tie this guy, I'll need him later."

The Emperor had previously learned that the factories were taken. Formally, the capitulation was in order. He then personally lead the assaults on several remaining spots and in each he offered a surrender. None agreed. He was definitely going without his morning drink. One hour later the Separatist fleet arrived. Phantom received a Neimoidian shuttle in order to get to the flagship. It was Providence, a ship type made by the Quarrens. It had something fishy about the design, and had a firepower equal to the Venator, maybe even more. There were other ships of that type.

Danny was led to the bridge under a guardianship of the strange droids. They wore torn gray cloaks, and wielded corthosis staffs. Impressive machines. They went up and exited in the cockpit. It was spacy, illuminated with red light.

"General Phantom," a metallic voice sounded. "Or should I adress you as an Admiral?"

The man turned to the side, and saw a strange being. At first Phantom thought it was a droid, but then he saw the eyes - yellow snake like eyes, surrounded by seemingly burned off wrinkly flesh. He was engulfed in a white plating, making him look like a skeleton. His legs, ending on raptor-like claws clanked as he approached Danny. The cyborg wore a black and red cape, and if he wasn't hunching, he would have been head taller than Phantom. Then the man stood straight, looking down at the stark haired ghost.

"Do I know you?" Danny raised his eyebrow.

"No, probably not. I am General Grievous, the Supreme Commander of the Droid Army."

"Hm, well, nice to meet you then."

Grievous was surprised by lack of intimidation, and he voiced his question. Danny shrugged.

"I have seen plenty of scary things. So, we have to work together?"

"No, I am to depart to Hypori. This ship is yours."

"Hm, could be better, but I'm not complaining. I don't have Dooku's number, so please tell him that we need to ensure the situation here."

"I'm not an errand boy," Grievous growled. "But...I'll do it so you won't fail."

The cyborg put hands behind his back and walked off, followed by his droid guards. Danny could feel it wasn't just because of the state interest. Still, he had a more pressing task, he needed to hold the line.

 **A.N. I get a lot of questions about Ashla and Bogan. I just want to say that they are like Chehov's rifle. They are still there, but for now they just hang on the wall like this same rifle. One day it will shoot, it involves the Ones, for those who know the deal.**


	36. Chapter XXXVI: Intrigues

Danny didn't know why he agreed on this. The ghost wasn't on the frontline, neither he was withthe rest of his family. Of course, Ahsoka counted as the family member, very much so, but she was also the one to bring him on Shili, away from the places the Emperor's job required him to be. But it was important for his surrogate daughter, so Phantom got a spare moment. Ever since Danny gave his agreement, the teenage girl seemed really excited. Too sad Ahsoka hadn't told him what exactly she had in mind.

Well, here they were, sitting on a rock surrounded by the tall grass. They were eating at the moment, a small lunch composed of sandwiches, juices and fruits. It was a very peaceful place: some birds chirped and the grass softly rustled around them. The sky was bright blue, and the sun was at its zenith. Danny smiled, it was actually a nice change, all that blasts and explosions were going to make him deaf.

The victory over Eriadu was outstanding. The superior Republican fleet was in ruins and the Jedi leading it was captured. And Phantom couldn't believe his luck, he captured the member of the Jedi Council. He had to give it to the man, Master Koth agreed to surrender to save his people. Phantom promised to keep them unharmed. He kept the promise, but the Jedi needed to be transported to Count Dooku. For what reason, Danny didn't know, but suspected something nasty.

And with Admiral Trench utterly humilated after his pathetic defeat over Cristophsis, Phantom looked like Caesar returning from Gallia compared to him. But it was only one victory, there were still Republican enclaves within the Confederacy's territory. Danny decided to appeal to the Separatist Senate, through his dearest yuth, of course. Asking the Council would have been suspicious. Besides, most Senators were led by interests of their planets, not money. They needed results, and Phantom gave them.

Of course, there was Grievous. He won the battle and settled fear in the hearts of the Republican citizens. Phantom wondered who he was, but there was nothing. The Intelligence couldn't find anything: no full name, no birth certificate. It helped with building the appearance of a creepy monster. On chicken legs. Phantom snickered the entire day when he got this thought. Members of the Imperial Council looked at him weirdly, once he attended the meeting. But, unlike the Separatist one, they didn't dare to say a word, despite the kind personality of the Emperor.

"Hey, kiddo," Danny called as Ahsoka took a bite of chicken sandwich. "I don't mind being here, but why exactly do you want to?"

The girl ate the meal and looked up at her father. She was wearing white leggins and red slightly heeled boots. Above the leggins was a short red skirt, and her higher chest was covered by a red piece of clothing, which showed her belly.

"I wanted to see my planet again. Thanks again for taking me here."

"No problem, I can do it in a few seconds, you know. But it isn't the only thing you came here for, right?" Danny asked calmly.

"Uhm...maybe."

Suddenly they caught a rustle in the grass. It was distant, but they caught it nevertheless. Ahsoka sniffed the air and grimaced.

"Oh-oh."

Phantom caught a glimpse of something long, furry and orange between the stalks of yellow grass. His hand went to the lightsaber on his belt. Ahsoka meanwhile prepared to take her own swords, stepping as far as she could into open ground. Understanding what she had in mind, Danny followed the gesture.

"What exactly are we looking for?" He asked.

"There are a lot of predators on this planet. If that's what I think it is, we got a jackpot."

Phantom raised his eyebrow, but followed the girl, who ran forward. She was very agile, and was able to get forward. But Ahsoka patiently waited for her father to catch up. Soon they got to the edge of the field, peaking out from the tall stalks of grass. On the opening was a creature, which was chewing down the corpse of one unlucky Togruta. Danny covered the girl's eyes instinctively, but Ahsoka still tilted her head to the side. The feline predator had a long body, covered in orange fur. It had a long pronounced jaw, which looked like it was able to chew down metal and spew what stayed between its teeth.

"Alright, who is this cutie?" Danny asked.

"Akul. They are dangerous and unpredictable."

"I can't agree on the last one. Duck."

Ahsoka knew that even when said calmly his command needed to be done. The rustle became more pronounced. Danny only had time to become intangible as a huge predator jumped out of the cover. Ahsoka was out of range, so she just jumped on her feet and activated the lightsabers. The animal growled, pacing in front of them, getting attention of another predator.

Ahsoka jumped to the side and another Akul missed her. It wasn't so patient as the other one, the Akul attacked Phantom, who seemed like a more preferable prey. Danny ignited the lightsaber and slashed, but its reflexes were quick, and it possessed the feline flexibility. The creature avoided the strike and tried to bite him, but Phantom pushed it away and zapped. It roared and attempted to get him again.

The girl meanwhile was attacked by the second predator. She jumped high in the air, above the animal, spinning in the air and trying to slash it. The Akul jumped to the side and once Ahsoka landed, lunged forward. She attempted to slash the beast, and one of her lightsabers reached the target. Even if the blade pierced the jaw, the weapon was sent flying out of her grasp.

Danny meanwhile was wrestling with the beast, holding its jaw open. He grimaced as saliva dripped slowly on his clothes.

"You need mint gum, kitten!"

He got an idea. Danny loosened the hold on his lightsaber. It floated above the creature's head and ignited again, piercing the predator. It fell dead and Ahsoka saw it. Using her distraction, Akul attacked the girl. Danny's eyes widened, before he blasted the feline with a red beam. It was sent flying backwards, but recovered quickly. Ahsoka narrowed her eyes and jumped at the animal's back. It tried to shake her off, but Ahsoka held tightly. She then repeated her father's action and stabbed the animal's head. It fell dead and Ahsoka grinned.

"I didn't even sweat!" She said proudly, putting hands on her belt.

"And almost got yourself eaten," Phantom scolded her. "Remember our fighting sessions?"

"Yeah..."

"And what did I say?"

"Never turn away from the enemy," Ahsoka looked down on the ground.

"But all in all, good job."

She beamed again. When Danny turned around, Ahsoka remembered what she needed.

"Wait, Dad," she called and Phantom looked back. "Can you...take out a few teeth?"

The ghost blinked. "What for?"

"It's just a tradition. When someone kills an Akul, we make an accessory from its teeth."

"I see..."

Grimacing, Danny phased off the teeth from their roots. They were really big and had a straight triangular shape.

"And what now?" He asked.

"I don't know, actually...maybe there are people in the settlement who can help make it."

Phantom shrugged, before telling Ahsoka to wait. He floated up in the air and looked around. After seeing the buildings on a distance, he descended to the ground. Danny saw the teen's deadpan expression.

"I want to fly, too," she grumbled.

Phantom didn't comment on this. They just went in required direction for some time. It was a village, and by the signs of it, there was something akin to emergency situation. Barricades, watch towers, all included. As they came close to the barricade, several Togruta came from their covers, pointing blasters at them. But soon they seemingly relaxed.

"Oh, that's not the predators!" Someone said.

"Yeah, I don't look much like a big cat, right?" Danny asked.

"Open the doors."

A hole in the barricade appeared, and two Force Users stepped inside. Behind that was a normally looking village. And of course many eyed the strangers. On of the Togruta approached them and bowed slightly.

"We are sorry for pointing weapons at you, please forgive us. This Akuls are running rampant."

"Why?" Danny raised an eyebrow.

"They are really hungry during mating seasons. They have already razed several villages, but we had time to prepare and give a temporary home to those who were able to survive."

"And what were you doing there?"

It was said by another Togruta, with three headtails of purple and white colors. He seemed to be really old. Phantom kept the same calm expression.

"My daughter and I just traveled to her home planet. AND she killed her first Akul. We wondered if someone here would be able to make something out of them."

Everyone's eyes widened as they looked at the blushing girl. Danny was too straightforward. Then the old man saw the lightsabers and everything became clear to him. And the ghost's face was familiar...

"You...you are Phantom, the Confederacy leader!"

Ahsoka blinked and Danny realized that the conversation with her was going to take place soon.

"Well, not the leader," Phantom rubbed the back of his neck. "One of them."

"W-we don't need any problems, we are a neutral planet!"

"No worries, I'm not here because of the war, I repeat. So, is there someone who can help us out? I'm paying good money for it."

"Well, there is, let me show you. Return to your posts now," the man said to the armed men.

As they went, Danny kept asking questions to the elder alien. Their settlement managed to fend off the supplies other communes shared with them. Rampant predators prevented them from growing food, and there was nothing to hunt, because Akuls ate everything. Danny offered some help, but the man was against it. It would seem like he had accepted the help of CIS. Then Phantom suggested hiring mercenaries to hunt down the beasts. The Togruta agreed on this, and was happy that Danny was going to do that for free.

Soon the Stormtroopers would be cleaning the ground. Yes, probably not the work they expected, but that's the oath they all made when joining the army. There was a joking interpretation between the soldiers. "Boys with guns help pals with pikes," they said. But all in all, it was their duty to help the citizens of the Empire, even if future ones. Besides, they all were bored with standing on the outposts and would be happy for any action.

When they gave the teeth to the master, Danny and Ahsoka sat at one of the small eating places. Togruta were very communal beings, they even shared the food. With each other. Phantom just got something to drink for himself and Ahsoka. The two sat on the grassland, drinking some strange stuff which tasted like ice tea.

"So, you wanted to ask something," Danny said.

"What's this Confederacy they talk about?"

"Heh, well, where did you think Komand and Dani were?"

"Hey, I didn't know anything, we had been traveling all this time!"

"Yeah, true enough," Danny shrugged and made a gulp. "Anyways, I'll better show you. Your accessory is not going to be made by tomorrow."

He got up and gave his hand. Ahsoka took it, before they teleported away, to the corner of the Galaxy. Raxus Secundus was a temperate world with grassy hills and many trees. It wasn't as famous as its neighbor - Raxus Prime, which had turned from a gaia world to the biggest junkyard of the Galaxy. Raxus Secundus was famous for one thing - now it was the capital of the Confederacy.

The central city looked really nice. It was somewhere about the size of Paris. It had slums, but what city doesn't? Phantom had purchased a nice mansion, and not many knew about this residence. The Emperor didn't have many palaces across his enormous country, even if there were numerous paradise places. He received money from the treasury, and sometimes he deemed it too much. Danny spent extra money on charity or needs like this.

The mansion was located in an elite part of the city. The entrance was guarded by two B-2 battle droids, who stepped aside as he approached. Danny and Ahsoka walked through the corridors, which looked nice and comfy. Phantom liked the place, he was going to keep it after the war would be over. They heard Komand's voice on a distance.

"Hm, where is this girl?" She asked loudly, not sounding sincere at all.

Danny chuckled and shook his head, while Ahsoka smirked. They peaked through the slightly opened door. Komand was looking around: behind the curtain, in the wardrobe, and each time she gasped. Phantom clearly heard the giggles of a certain little girl. Then Komand was going through the middle of the living room, with a thoughtful expression. Suddenly she seemingly grabbed the air and raised her hands.

"Found ya," the woman smirked, before forcing Dani to turn visible.

"Haha, Mommy, stop!" She laughed as Komand tickled the child.

"How many times I said not to become invisible when we are playing? You are gonna get punished!" The yuth said with a grin, continuing the tickling.

"You are so cruel, honey."

Both girls looked towards the entrance and beamed.

"Daddy!" Dani squealed and phased out of her mother's arms.

The girl jumped into Danny's embrace, causing him to laugh. He kissed her cheek and put her on the ground. Dani then ran to Ahsoka and hugged her and gave her a mark bone breaking greeting.

"Hey, little sister," The Togruta patted the small ghost.

Phantom's head meanwhile was turned to the side and he immediately felt his lover's lips on his. She was kissing him ravenously, wrapping her hands around his neck. Danny hugged her closer and returmed the kiss. Komand parted their lips and panted for breath.

"Woah, that was intense," Phantom commented as Dani eewed.

"I didn't have this for two damn weeks."

Ah, yes, yuth hormones, he forgot. Danny looked at Komand again and she was blushing at what she just said. Phantom chuckled, but then one of the B-1 droids stepped into the room.

"Madam, the guests are here," it said in its usual whiney voice. Whoever made them was an idiot.

Komand let go of her lover. "Let them in," she said.

"Guests?" Danny asked as the machine walked out of the room.

"Well, we need the Senators to be loyal to us, right? I just wanted to make some friends."

Phantom smirked. "Smart girl," he then looked at the children. "Kids, leave us, please."

"C'mon, sis, I'm gonna show you something!" Dani said, pulling Ahsoka after her.

"Why do you have to be so strong?!" The older girl exclaimed in exasperation, before being pulled out of the room.

Danny and Komand chuckled at the siblings' antics. As the first one was busy examining the journal lying on an armchair, the Yuth stood and waited. Soon two B-1s led two people inside. Man and woman both were somewhere in the late thirties. The woman had gray eyes and graying auburn hair, and was wearing a gray dress. She sure liked that color. The man had auburn hair, too, but had blue eyes. He was wearing brown robes.

Komand smiled. "Mina, Larce, thank you for coming," she greeted and approached.

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine, dear," Mina responded, shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet you, madame," Larce added.

"Komy, dear, mind introducing your friends?"

Danny appeared out of nowhere and stood nearby, causing the guest's eyes to widen in surprise. He loved getting such reactions. He bowed theatrically.

"Daniel Phantom at your service."

"Oh, we didn't expect to see you here, General," Larce commented, sounding somewhat enthusiastic.

"Believe me, my beautiful lover hadn't told me about your arrival as well."

"Hey, is it my fault that you are absent for so long?" Komand crossed her hands and blushed at being called beautiful.

"Military duties are like that," Larce commented before they all sat on a sofa and two armchairs. "Larce Bonteri, it's an honor to meet you, sir."

"Wow, I'm getting popular," Phantom said with amusement, before seeing narrowed eyes of his girlfriend. She would have nudged him if not for two meters separating them.

"What my husband is trying to say is that we all are impressed by your achievements, General," Mina put in. "Very interesting for someone of your age."

"There is Grievous, he won too."

"Yes, but his methods are more...uncivilized. Besides, you won while the Republic had an upper hand."

"Alright, please stop praising him, or his ego threatens to hit the ceiling," Komand deadpanned, making Danny gasp dramatically.

"How can you say such things?!" He said.

The married couple chuckled at the exchange. Yes, there was definitely something between them.

"So, you are dating, aren't you?" Larce asked.

"Yep."

"For four years," Komand said with a strange note in her voice.

"And you still aren't married?" Mina raised her eyebrow.

Both young adults blushed, and two humans noticed a green color in the stark haired man's cheeks. Huh, he looked human, didn't he?

"Ehem," Danny coughed. "Anyways, there aren't many humans in the Confederacy. Where are you from?"

"Onderon," Larce answered.

"That's...quite far from here."

"Certainly not farther than your planets."

"True enough. My homeworld of Terra is far away."

"So that's where you are from. I never heard of it," Mina commented as a servitude droid brought drinks.

"Purest Ceylon tea...I still like coffee more," Danny said, getting off topic. "It's no surprise you don't know about it, the planet is uncharted and I'll prefer to keep it that way."

"And what about you?" Larce asked, turning to Komand.

"Well, my planet is uncharted as well. It's Babylon."

The conversation kept going about personal things, except for those which were private. Each side understood that. Then the talk came to the war. Larce showed an awe of the ghost's original tactics. If only he saw Thrawn. Then the conversation took a sudden turn.

"Are you two the Jedi?" Mina asked.

Phantom hummed and Komand decided to let him speak.

"Well, no, we are not. They forbid attractions, you know?"

It was a perfectly built lie, when he didn't lie at all, he simply made them think what he needed. Like if they LEFT the Order.

The talk left a very pleasant impression. When two families said their farewells, Danny and Komand looked at each other. Phantom then slowly walked in direction of the nursery. Understanding what he intended to do, the woman followed him. She felt that her lover was in deep thought, and she voiced her curiosity.

"It's...complicated. Why do you think I preferred to keep Ahsoka with us instead of returning her?" He asked.

The question caught Komand off guard. "Uhm...because you wanted to have more Paladins?"

"Then why wasn't she training with others?"

There was a silence. What exactly did he mean?

They entered the nursery, and saw that Dani was wearing a carton Roman helmet with a carton sword in her hand. Ahsoka was sitting in a pillow castle, seeming both amused and a bit embarrassed.

"Don't worry, princess!" Dani said, fixing the helmet on her head and raising her sword. "The Mighty Warrior will save you!"

She jumped at the giant plush toy with an adorable roar, swinging her sword.

"Take that, you meanie dragon!" She said loudly.

Dani defeated the dragon and everyone else laughed. The girl didn't notice that, so she just jumped on her feet.

"Now, you are safe, princess!" Dani grinned proudly, looking at Ahsoka.

"So I see, Mighty Warrior," the Togruta smiled.

The white haired girl yawned. Phantom came to Dani from behind and picked her up. She yelped, but recovered quickly as the helmet fell over her eyes.

"Looks like our lil' warrior needs her day nap."

"NO! I'm a big warrior, I don't need..." Dani yawned again.

Phantom chuckled as Komand approached them.

"Please, put her to bed, I'll be back soon."

She nodded, before Danny handed the girl to his lover. Dani didn't resist and just held onto the yuth, playing with her short black hair. When they left, the ghost looked at his another daughter.

"I promised you answers, Ahsoka. Let's go for a walk."

The perk of living on the city border was that they were able to walk around the forests and fields. If Raxus Prime used to have tropics and white beaches, Raxus Secundus looked like savanna. As they went, Phantom patiently explained the war situation to Ahsoka. He tried to be careful, and avoided talking about the Jedi. But his student was smart, and the girl straightforwardly asked the question about the Order's position. Even if she had spent four years in a company of loving family, the Order still was important for her.

"The Jedi sided with the Republic..." Danny said slowly. "So yes, we are enemies."

"But why do they help them?"

Phantom smiled internally. It may be not so hard, after all.

"Because they believe that the Confederacy is a bunch of evil bastards. Well, its leaders mostly are. But the Senators aren't. They just want to live happy lives, not to be a mere source of raw materials, so moneybags could treat them as trash."

"And you became the Confederacy general...why?"

"Because I want to help people understand that I'm not someone to be feared of. Then, once the time will be right, the Empire will reveal itself, and everyone will see who I really am. We will take this part of the Galaxy without making a single shot. Well, except maybe Death Troopers."

"And what about the Jedi?"

Danny sighed. "Of course, it would have been nice if they stayed neutral. But they are our enemies, except for those Count Dooku turned. But he is a Sith, and not the one who serves me. They follow the Dark Side only, and that's not the way. I don't want to kill them, but I often have no choice. You aren't feeling offended, I hope?"

"No, I think. Still..."

"I know you are conflicted, dear, but you may help them."

"How?" Ahsoka looked up at him with a thoughtful expression.

Danny smirked. "The Order thinks you're dead. Of course, there may be some complications, but we will think up something. I'm not asking about espionage, they are generals and all, but about trying to...convince some of them. You will save their lives. Of course, it must be subtle."

Ahsoka looked on the ground, not sure what to think about it. "But...what if they find out?"

Danny put a hand on her shoulder. "I will be ready to help you by the first signal. I know this is an important decision for you, so I'm not ordering it. This is entirely up to you, kiddo."

They sat on the grassy ground, no one said a word. Danny was patient, he just looked at the setting sun. He wondered what was going on in his daughter's mind. He couldn't read thoughts, he only sensed a conflict. True, convincing the Jedi could save them. But working against the Order...Why did it feel wrong? But one main factor was a general thankfulness to Danny. The man was never unkind to her, and he did so much. Now Phantom asked for something in exchange. Ahsoka finally got a chance to do something. She looked at Danny, who was lying with hands behind his head and closed eyes.

"What do I need to do?" The Togruta asked.

Danny only smiled.

Two following days the Intelligence was busy setting up everything. The agents prepared some small things, bribing a few witnesses so they would say what's needed, buying a transport so it would look like Ahsoka arrived on Coruscant by using it. Phantom meanwhile came up with a cover story, closing every plot hole in it and making sure the girl remembered every last piece of it. Ahsoka got a teary farewell from her little foster sister, they sure would miss each other. Komand was more temperate, just a strong hug.

Danny took her to Shili, where they also took back the accessory - the headdress. It fit her perfectly, and looked very nice. There, in the small spaceport, Phantom said his final advises, and bid his loving farewell, too. Danny's smile was enough for Ahsoka to regain the wavering confidence. It had such an effect on people, many citizens of the Empire loved their ruler because of that. It gave confidence in the following day.

From Shili Ahsoka was taken to the Republican capital. It felt strange for her to return to Coruscant after four years. The Togruta never would have thought that she would return there while not being the Jedi. From the spaceport Ahsoka took a taxi to the Jedi Temple. She got a weirded look from the driver, but he did his job.

Ahsoka went through the enormous square in front of the building. She passed several golden statues, which were about thirty meters tall, not counting the pedestrians. The teen went up the enormous staircase, and near the huge doors she was stopped by two Temple guards. They were wearing white and yellow robes, with masks covering their faces. Ahsoka couldn't help but compare them to her father's Palatine Guards. They activated the yellow ligtsabers and blocked the path. The girl jumped slightly.

"Hey, that's rude," she deadpanned.

She tried to pass them for five minutes, and each time they didn't let her in. Soon, however, the ridiculous show was stopped.

"What's going on here?"

Ahsoka looked behind the guards and saw a mid aged man with dark blond hair and blue eyes. It was Cin Drallig, the head of Temple guards. Apparently, he was summoned there. That was right, the lightsaber caught them off guard, pun intended.

"Hello, Master Drallig," Ahsoka said. "No one wants to let me in, you see."

"Do I know you?" The man raised his eyebrow.

"I'm Ahsoka. Ahsoka Tano."

Cin's expression became thoughtful, before his eyes widened.

"The ways of the Force are unpredictable," he muttered. "Guards, let her in."

They removed their lightsabers and turned them off. Ahsoka made a few steps forward, only to be stopped by the Jedi Master.

"The Council has to know about this, follow me, Young One."

Without any other option, the girl followed him. She admitted to herself that it felt nice to walk through that halls again. They got to the elevator, which moved them up the central tower. In a tiny corridor the Master stopped her and ordered to wait. Ahsoka paced around in boredom, until Drallig went out and invited her to come in, while going back to the elevator. Taking a deep sigh, the Togruta went into the Council room.

Several Jedi Masters were sitting there, while some were present in the form of holograms. One of the twelve chairs was empty. All of them looked at the new arrival in curiosity, and Ahsoka flashed a brief smile at Master Plo Koon.

"Surprised to see you, we are, youngling," Yoda said from his small chair.

"You were presumed dead," Master Fisto said rather straightforwardly.

"I suspected as much," Ahsoka responded, sounding sad.

"You must understand that no one survived on Ilum," Windu said. "How did YOU manage to do so?"

"There were some animals, their meat is edible and their fur is warm. They didn't live in the crystal caves, so I had to leave them in order to survive. Probably that's why our paths didn't cross. I tried, but hurrying through the snowstorm would be a suicide."

"And you were like that for four years?"

"No, a few months later some smuggler was there. He agreed to take me out of there, but I needed to work for this. We flew across the Galaxy, doing some errands, but we never were on Coruscant, only in the Outer Rim. Then there were many things: I worked on the factory, delivered parcels, many things. I tried to save money for a way to Coruscant, but I never was able to. Then I finally got a chance to get to Shili, I hoped that my commune would help me. There I killed the Akul and got this headdress. They helped me get a place in a transport. That's how I got here."

"Hm, a sad and impressive story, it is," Yoda said. "Where the lightsabers came from?"

"Oh, I found them in the snow in one of the caves. It looked like a remnant of the battlefield."

"Yes, there was a battle against the Sith Empire a long time ago."

The irony sometimes can be thick.

"Really? Oh, anyways, I just picked them and put the crystals I found in them. So...what happens now?"

"I think it counts as a trial," Plo Koon commented. "Not everyone can survive for four years in such young age."

Ahsoka felt a shameful pang in her chest. Many Masters agreed with this.

"Right you are, Master Plo," Yoda rubbed his chin with his three fingered hand. "Placed with the Jedi Master, you must be."

"But Master Yoda," Windu put in. "She is four years behind the teachings. Are you sure it is wise to do so?"

"Replaced with Padawan training, they can be," Yoda gave something akin to a small snicker.

"It still shall be discussed. Until then, go have some rest, Young One."

Ahsoka bowed slightly. "Thank you, Masters, I will wait for your decision."

She turned around and went out of the room. Apparently, the mission was successful.


	37. Chapter XXXVII: An invasion of Ryloth

"You know, it actually feels nice to be...how to put it..."

"Normal?" Komand asked with a teasing smirk.

Danny laughed, "Yeah, that's the word. Pass the salt, please," he gestured for a shelf.

Komand raised an eyebrow, mixing the mass in the bowl. "Were you cut off from the Force by any chance?"

"No, but your skills of passing objects are unmatched."

She didn't look up and only moved her palm slowly. The glass object flew and hit Danny in the head slightly. The man yelped and Komand only smirked slightly.

"It's you who didn't catch that," she said.

Danny rubbed his sore place, while holding salt in another hand. He narrowed his eyes and poured it into the food his lover was making.

"Hey!" Komand exclaimed, before adding oil into Phantom's frying pan.

Apparently, they got too carried away. As the laughter filled the kitchen, both meals they were making were ruined. It seemed that ketchup didn't mix well with fish, and adding sugar to the fried eggs was a heresy worth of being burned on the stake. Of course, it didn't come to burning, but as a punishment they ate each other's meals. Dani, who was given a cereal so she wouldn't starve or get poisoned by the toxic food, had a good laugh at her parents' expressions. Phantom didn't have a digestive system, so he didn't throw up, unlike his lover, who was going through the deep suffering. Never again they were going to do that.

With a horrible taste still on his tongue, Danny teleported to the Council meeting. The Separatists glanced at the youngest member, who was shifting on his place. Phantom may be...eccentric, they all thought, but he was at least useful. What made Danny even more suspicious is that Dooku never reacted to him being a Jedi. And that was strange, considering the display of power. Moreover, the old man supported him and allowed to use the commanders Phantom deemed required. Something wasn't quite right.

Ahsoka was assigned to a Master, well, not quite. For some reason, it was only a Knight. And it just so happened to be Anakin Skywalker. He, along with Obi-Wan, were fighting on the surface of Cristopsis. The girl told him excitedly about how they destroyed the ray shielding and beated the enemy. Despite losing the space battle, the Separatists weren't going to surrender. Moreover, Phantom knew that they were retaliating at the moment he was busy capturing the major cities of Ryloth and driving the Republican forces outside.

Danny was tasked with capturing the planet. There were still the Republican enclaves deep in the Separatist territory, and from now on, while General Grievous was leading the main attacks, Phantom's job was to get rid of the enclaves. Not the most prestigious job, and it was one of the ways of getting him away from glorious victories, but there was nothing he could do about that, only do everything swiftly.

Ryloth was a peculiar planet, with one part being in perpetual darkness, while the other was burning hot. The most pressing cultural question there was slavery. Republic, at least publicly, forbid it across their territory, but the slavery wasn't something out of ordinary for the locals - Twi'leks. The unmentioned line of income were slaves. The males were strong enough to work, and their women were considered one of the most beautiful. Such a hypocrisy. Of course, most of the populace hated it, but that was an example of corruption. And corruption isn't something declared out loud.

And the Confederacy wasn't even better, there were slavers as well, opened ones. Prohibiting it would have made them turn their backs to the movement, so Phantom had to deal with it, although the thing disgusted him. Danny had an idea to hold Ryloth under his direct control.

The ghost leaned on the holographic table in front of him.

"Now, please explain, why are we here?" Phantom asked as his lips thinned. Several explosions were heard outside of the cave.

"Well, that piece of scrap metal ordered to go through the canyon," Haseas said, pointing at the literal remnants of the tactical droid.

Lord General got a little demotion, or so some of the officers thought. He was now the Emperor's assistant on the battlefield. Phantom picked only the most skillful, and they were honored. While Thrawn was holding the blockade above the planet, Danny and Haseas were fighting on the ground.

"Grr," Phantom growled. "What a moron, now they are shooting at us from above."

"Shall we request the bombardment to support the offense?"

"There are refugees. We don't want to kill them."

"Living shields?"

"No, just a terrified crowd they are trying to protect. Like on Mas-Lok, remember?"

"Huh, yes..." Haseas put a hand on his chin, recalling the event from the Emperor's Crusade, as some called the conquest Phantom led. "Any ideas, boss?"

"We can use the dropships. Order them to land...here," a spot glowed red as he tapped on it. "Here and here," more dots appeared around.

"The last one seems dangerous. It's a completely opened ground. And they have riding beasts."

"We have no other option, we are running out of time. I'll lead the assault. Until then, continue to press forward."

"Understood!" Haseas stood straight and hit his chest.

Phantom stepped out of the cave, feeling the dust from the ceiling of the cave fall on his snowy head. Danny took out a communicator and made a call to the orbit. An image of Thrawn soon appeared. The Chiss was wearing the clothes fitting his status of the Grand Admiral, but without any signs which could reveal his true allegiance. It was a pearly white uniform, with two small golden plates on each shoulder. There were also black boots, belt and white gloves.

"Sir," Thrawn nodded in greeting.

"What's the situation up there?"

"It's stable. We have enough forces to maintain the blockade, and their ships are retreating."

"Good. We need the ships to drop the droids in certain places. I'm sending you the coordinates."

As Thrawn nodded, Danny went under the bright sun of Ryloth. Phantom looked around and saw one of the droid gunships.

"Sergeant!" He barked and a B-1 battle droid with yellow markings approached the ghost. "Prepare to launch the offense. We have to press forward."

"Uhm...deeper into the canyon, sir?" The droid asked in confusion.

"No, into the Loch Ness lake, of course press there, all other ways are blocked now!"

"Roger, roger."

The droid went away, clanking with its metal parts.

"Statement: It insults me that my fellow droids were made so unbearably idiotic," HK said from behind.

Phantom shrugged. "They are a cannon fodder. And cannon fodder must be cheap."

"Query: Was this so hard to make a proper software?"

"It was expensive. And if there is something the Neimoidians can do, it is counting money. IRB is tasked with creating a proper program. Yours won't do, because you are not designed to fight like we need to."

Phantom was informed that the dropships were approaching. Ordering HK to help Haseas in the main offense, Danny jumped on the edge of the gunship which was already there. It was a very rare prototype, it was going to be its first fight. On either side of the gunship's nose were large spherical gun turrets, mounting twin medium laser cannons along with their respective capacitors, as well as the targeting scanners. Between the two turrets were moving mandibles, a rotating mount for a medium cannon mounted on the gunship's chin. On top of the nose were two photoreceptor eyes, long-range sensor ports, the processor for the sensors and antennae, the portside targeting processor, and the starboard deflector shield generator. The rear of the ship was composed of a large disc.

Danny tapped on the hull.

"You know where to go. Get me up there!" He ordered.

The droid ship gave an affirmative, before flying up with a whirring sound. Phantom held tightly and looked down. There were several positions from which the clones and Twi'lek partisans were firing down. Grinning, Danny ordered to open fire at one of the places. As the rain of lasers and rockets poured down at the enemy, creating the raging inferno, Phantom hummed the Ride of the Valkyries loudly. No one heard him, sadly, but he had his portion of fun.

When the gunship lowered, Danny calmly stepped down and ignited the lightsaber. The droid flew off to another spots. Phantom went at his enemies, deflecting the blaster bolts coming his way casually. A small encampment had no place to go, so they could only fire at him, taking cover behind the crates. After one swing of the see through lightsaber, one of the partisans threw a grenade. Phantom didn't even look at it, but the projectile flew back at the group and blew them up. Phantom raised his free hand and it glowed red. He fired and blew up the rest. Dodging several blasts, he kept cutting the enemies. One clone was shaking slightly, with one hand on his wounded chest and another around the handle of the blaster pistol. He fired at Danny's back and hit the spot.

He didn't have time to triumph, because Phantom appeared near him and grabbed his neck, lifting the man above the ground.

"You hit the place where my heart was. Too sad I don't have any."

Danny threw the man down the cliff. He then requested the report from the other landing squads. Of course, they weren't as effective. But the partisans were still distracted. Phantom was about to come down, when he heard the loud booming sounds. Then the blue bolts hit the canyon walls, causing them to crumble upon the attacking forces. The frontline was buried beneath the rocks, while the main part of the Droid army was cut off from the retreating Republican forces.

Apparently, they had an artillery.

Phantom's lips thinned. And he so hoped to get out of that burning hellhole. The ghost jumped off the cliff and slowed down the fall a few feet above the ground. He softly stepped on the dusty path and approached one of the tanks. AAT was the main tank of the Confederacy, and was very good for something of its price. Six meters tall, with one huge laser cannon on top. It had multiple sensors, errays, usual stuff. Two secondary laser guns were located on their sides. Its front armor was almost impenetrable, but the sides could be blown apart with a detonator, and the back could be pierced with a good blaster.

Danny knocked on the wall slightly. Haseas looked out of the tank, opening the trapdoor on top.

"Isn't the best way to start a day, huh?" The mid aged general asked.

"You bet," Phantom grumbled. "Bring me the map."

One of the droids ran to him and activated the hologram. Danny rubbed his chin and sighed.

"There is only one entrance. Start moving, we need to catch up with them as soon as possible."

"Roger, roger, boss!" Haseas said with a smirk, making Phantom roll his neon eyes.

Suddenly the communicator beeped. Danny saw who it was coming from, so he found a more or less secluded place. He pressed the button and the image appeared.

"My Lord, I have an urgent message."

"Oh, really?" Phantom asked sarcastically. Keeper nodded.

"You have ordered to spy on the most influential people of the Republican Senate. Bail Organa, the representative from Alderaan, is off to Toydaria."

"What for?" Now the Emperor was interested.

"We have also intercepted the message from the Jedi Temple."

Ah, so Ahsoka DID put the tiny device in the HQ.

"We will send it to you if you wish, Your Majesty. Organa plans to send the relief supply to the resistance movement of Ryloth. And weapons as well, apparently, they must be running out of the ammo."

"Toydaria, you say..."

"Affirmative, My Lord. It has been neutral so far, and from what we have learned, it intends to stay that way."

Danny nodded slowly, still deep in thought. "Send the transmission to me. I think we have a trump card in our sleeve."

"Sir, they never said anything about weapons."

Phantom gave a fanged smirk. "I'm sure we are missing something out. We'll need to restore this information."

Keeper smirked as well. "It shall be done, Your Majesty."

Some time later a little montage was done. Then Danny, using the stellar map, which also included the map of the surface, left to Toydaria. He ordered Haseas to press forward, leaving the man in command.

The Toydarian homeworld was covered with nutrient-rich muck-lakes, which supported clouds of bugs and mats of algae and a number of predators including dangerous grabworms. Monsoons and fungal diseases ravaged the planet, and could often kill off growing stocks of agriculture. Sustenance for the food on Toydaria was so great that on average every 30 standard years depending on weather cycles, shortages would occur and the Toydarians would steal or even poison their neighbor's food supply, under the belief that if they couldn't have it, no one should. Charming fellows, but they obviously could spare some food.

Phantom appeared in the Palace of King Katuunko. Nice place, but it was designed to fit the needs of flying inhabitants. Thankfully Phantom could fly as well, but that's not the point. Invisibly Danny flew to the main conference room. He already heard some voices from the inside, oh, his luck was incredible. At first, Danny just listened, but then decided to phase inside and watch from the shadows.

There were several important figures sitting around the center, on the tall platforms eight meters above the ground. In the center sat the King himself. A mammalian race of winged, stout bodied humanoids, the Toydarians had stubby facial tusks which protruded from their lower jaw and framed a short pudgy trunk. They had seemingly small, but very strong wings on their backs. The most distinctive feature were short, elephant like snouts.

In the center were two platforms. On one stood the Neimoidian, on the other - a human with black hair and brown eyes, along with a strange amphibian being. Wait, oh god, it was a Gungan.

"...We have no qualms with the Separatists! Nute Gunray is an extremist! His views don't reflect those of the Trade Federation," the Neimoidian said angrily.

"Perhaps not," Bail Organa responded slowly, rubbing his chin. "But you can understand the confusion."

"We are here only to make sure that nothing jeopardizes the agreement between Toydaria and the Trade Federation."

"Naboo and Alderaan have a long tradition of providing humanitarian aid. I see no reason for arguing."

"Nor do I," the King agreed. "The people of Ryloth are suffering, and compassion is a sacred Toydarian value."

"A wonderful speech, Your Majesty."

Everyone looked at the shadows, at first seeing only neon eyes, but then the entire person. Everyone's eyes widened, while Phantom grinned.

"Pardon my intrusion, Great King," the ghost bowed. "But I had no time to ask for an appointment."

"Nevertheless, it is rude, General," Katuunko commented.

"And again I apologize," Danny repeated, approaching two tribunes, "It is just suspicious that you are meeting with the Republican representative unknowingly to us."

Neimoidian narrowed his eyes, surprisingly. It was his assignment, not this upstart's! Katuunko flinched for a split second, before regaining a calm expression.

"This is just a humanitarian aid, General. It doesn't mean we are joining the war."

Phantom gave a smile, putting hands behind his back, and everyone shivered unvoluntarily. "Your Majesty, I'm sure that Senator Organa has told you about a little predicament on Ryloth. You know, about our blockade."

"What?!"

It caused the whispers to erupt throughout the hall.

"Is this true, Senator?" The King asked.

"Yes, Your Majesty, but it changes nothing!" Organa exclaimed.

Now that caused an uproar. Several feudals rose from their seats in outrage.

"It changes everything. It will make us the participants of the war!"

Danny decided that it was the most perfect moment to press forward. "Your Majesty. Even if I'm curious about how the Trade Federation got a wind of this meeting, but I and my subordinates have caught a little talk. Let me show you."

He took out the holographic device. It was a peculiar scene, indeed. The art of faking the video was one of its highest forms. The intelligence only changed one phrase: 'supply' into 'supply and arms', in the middle of the dialog. Oh, and they also made sure that the original couldn't be found. The expressions on others' faces were priceless. Danny whistled slightly.

"Should have brought the camera," he commented.

"This is a lie," Organa said. "There was never such a talk!"

"The only lie I see here is yours, Senator. Are all Republican Senators born with lying tongues?" Phantom responded calmly.

"Hey! Yousa have no right to speak with Senator Organa like that!" The Gungan exclaimed, while Bail was too stunned to react.

"You are right," Phantom said to everyone's shock, while chuckling dryly. "I get too carried away, sometimes. I apologize."

"I think there is no need to tell you that your offer is denied, Senator," Katuunko said with narrowed eyes.

This is where Phantom shocked everyone again. "On the contrary, Your Majesty. They may transport the supplies."

"I beg your pardon?"

Danny glanced at the Trade Federation representative. In this situation the Neimoidian wouldn't have been able to argue.

"Organa didn't lie about the famine. People are indeed starving, but this is a war, and civilians are suffering more than anyone. I was given the authority to act during the conquest as I please as long as I'm winning. So, I will order to let the Republican supply ships pass. On one condition - we will first examine them, and only after that the Twi'leks will receive their food and water."

The King rubbed his chin in thought. Phantom was in the perfect position, in the eyes of the monarch he was a noble man, who followed his path and just opposed the Republic. In the eyes of Bail he was a strange person, even if the plan was obvious. Danny basically got all the spoils from their initiative, moreover, they were accused of lies, and were now obliged to send the ships only with food to Ryloth. The Neimoidian meanwhile was in two minds about the situation. On one hand, Phantom had done what Dooku commanded, but it was done not by the representative and Dooku didn't want any ship to pass.

The King meanwhile whispered with the feudals near him. Soon Katuunko looked back at his guests.

"If the Confederacy sees no offense in such actions, so be it," the Toydarian declared. "We will check the ships. No weapon will be transported."

"You are very wise, Your Majesty," Phantom bowed. "I'm putting the faith into your neutrality. Now, if you excuse me, dear friends, I have to return to my army as soon as possible."

Danny turned around and left. No one saw a devilish grin of satisfaction on his face.

No one could understand how he got out of the planet, because no ship landed or departed. When Phantom returned to Ryloth, he continued the offense, knowing that the resistance was running out of ammo. He could allow to press forward no matter the cost. There were almost no clones left, only partisans. They were cunning bastards, however. It was so much more interesting, and annoying. The heat was killing the Ghost General. He so wanted to spend a few hours in cold vacuum.

Meanwhile, as the droids were marching forward, deeper into the canyon, Phantom got another message, while sitting inside a very comfy AAT.

"Hey, Dad," Ahsoka greeted in a slightly hushed voice. "How are you doing?"

"Well, you know, the usual. Explosions, cries, etcetera. What about you?"

Ironically, he heard a high pitched cry. Ahsoka groaned and picked up a small puffy creature, which looked like an overgrown slug. She started shaking the baby in order to calm him down. Danny's eyes widened as he saw it.

"Ehm, why do you have a Hutt kid with you?" He asked.

"Long story short, this is Stinky, the son of Jabba the Hutt. And we have to return him in order to help the Republic."

"Stinky?"

"Uhm, no, it's just a nickname. He reeks, and he is really ill. I gave him a medicine and he seems to be getting better."

"So that fat worm has a kid? Huh."

"Do I need to do anything?" Ahsoka asked.

Danny tapped on his chin. "Just return him. I'll think up something later."

"Alright."

"I heard about the Cristopsis. Good job," Ahsoka beamed at that. "What about your Master?"

"Anakin is...different from other Jedi. He is a bit like you."

"Really?" Danny smirked.

"Yeah. He has a big mouth too."

"Watch your tongue, young lady," Ahsoka flinched, realizing that she had just offended him. "But I'm proud of my snark."

"Uhm, sir," the driver droid said. "You may want to see this."

Danny sighed. "Fine. May the Force be with you, kiddo."

"You too, Dad."

After ending the transmission Phantom opened the trapdoor above his head and looked out of the tank. The same landscape and slowly moving army. He suddenly saw the Republican LAAT gunship. Abandoned, without a single soul around. Raising his eyebrow, Danny commanded to stop. Droids kept going. He repeated the order. No reaction. As a tick mark appeared on his forehead, he shouted loudly and this time everyone stopped.

"Stupid clankers," Phantom mumbled.

Haseas climbed out of the tank which was nearby. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Danny nodded in direction of an abandoned ship. "Just think, an abandoned ship, in a narrow pass. Doesn't ring any bells?"

"Ah, like Galra did once."

"Exactly. It might be filled with explosives. Let's not test our luck."

Phantom jumped out of the tank and went forward, pretending not to see a small gleam behind the trees. The clone suddenly felt a powerful pull and the detonator flew out from his arms. Danny lazily raised his hand and the device flew into it. He clenched the fist and the metal scrap fell on the ground. Phantom pointed in direction of the clone, and the poor trooper found himself under a massive fire with no chance of survival. Danny then moved his hands and lifted the gunship. He then made a throwing motion and the transport flew on a considerable distance. It then blew up, much, much more destructively than it was supposed to. Danny grinned in pride while Haseas smirked.

"War never changes, my dear friend," Phantom commented loudly so the Yuth could hear him. "Keep going, everyone!"

They soon faced a resistance. It was pathetic compared to one they put while defending the capital. The victory was imminent, the question was how long it was going to take. The Droid Army kept moving forward mercilessly, the dumb but souless machines were eliminating the enemy. Once they got to the ravine, in the center of one of the squads the Jedi started cutting down the droids into smoking pieces, having seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Another strike of the Master was interrupted when he was thrown aside. Phantom stood in front of him, ordering the Droids to stop firing. The remaining clones were happy to catch a breath.

"You are the one who caused me so much trouble, didn't you?

The Kajain'sa'Nikto, also known as the Red Nikto, were a subspecies of the sentient humanoid Nikto species from the planet Kintan. Aside from their skin color, they were also distinguished by their scaly, coarse skin, and their horns and spikes. The Jedi was not an exception.

"Yes, and I'm happy to do so. You are not getting anywhere as long as I live."

"So I have noticed," Danny said with a deadpan expression. "That's why I have sent my forces to cut off every passage."

"What?"

Phantom smirked. "I don't see Twi'leks anywhere. You have decided to sacrifice yourself. How noble, noble and predictable. Too sad that once they come out my Droids will greet them."

The Jedi expression became that of horror. Danny knew what the alien thought.

"You dirty Sith..."

"I have an offer for you," Phantom interrupted. "We may fight. No outside help. If you win, I let them go. If it will be me," the ghost chuckled. "Well, we will see."

The Nikto tightened his grip on the lightsaber. "I have no choice," he said.

"Yep. What's your name?"

"Ima-Gun Di."

"I know you will. Now tell me the name."

"It was my name."

Phantom tried to hold his laughter inside, but failed miserably. He burst laughing, while everyone was staring at him in confusion. Of course they would. They didn't know English.

"Oh," Danny wiped a tear, "Damn, your Mommy was really cruel. Anyways, let's start this already, Im-gonna-die."

He turned on the lightsaber and jumped at the Jedi.

Meanwhile Ahsoka was going through the sands of Tatooine, with Stinky tied to her back. A lot had happened after Danny's call. She and Anakin were attacked by the Droids and they crashlanded on the sandy planet. They needed to transport the forty years old Hutt baby by the next sunrise. It was hard, Danny at least was sitting inside a tank with a conditioner. She needed to walk through the burning sands under equally burning suns.

Somewhere around the sunset Ahsoka and Anakin decided to split up because they could be followed. The Jedi Knight decided to hold them off while the Padawan was delivering the kid. She was accompanied by R2-D2 - Anakin's astromech and the closest buddy. Of droids, at the very least. As in every desert, the nights on Tatooine were cold. She could already see Jabba's Palace - the round building on a hill. Ahsoka smiled and glanced at the baby Hutt.

"Hey, you are almost home, buddy," she said cheerfully, and the baby squeaked. Being a big sister to a small girl taught her how to treat the infants.

Suddenly she heard a cackling of electricity. She spun around and saw three droids. Those were Magna Guards, the same kind General Grievous had. Their staffs were cackling with purple electricity on each end.

"I guess you aren't here for a peppy talk?" Ahsoka asked, activating her lightsabers and taking a battle stance.

The Droids attacked her. Ahsoka blocked the hits from two of them, and the third attempted to zap her. She jumped high in the air and landed behind the clanker, before slashing. The droid blocked the hit and pushed her back.

'Alright, Ahsoka, remember what Dad has taught you,' she thought.

Ahsoka attacked the nearest Magna Guard with one lightsaber. It of course blocked the hit, but she then attempted to use another blade, which was intercepted by the same staff. The droid had to loosen the block on another lightsaber, so Ahsoka made a powerful stab into the droid's chest. She jumped away from another droid's swing, but the lightsaber remained where it was. The padawan swung her hand and the sword slashed the droid in half, before flying into her grasp.

Phantom made a swing, but the Jedi Master blocked it again. Danny kept pressing forward, using his almost unlimited amount of stamina. Still, he had a very calm and confident posture, fitting his favorite fighting form. It almost seemed that only his palm was moving. Every eye was glued to the scene, and besides the droids, who could care less, and HK with Haseas who were more than confident in their Emperor's skills, everyone stared at the battle.

Danny hit the opponent's lightsaber again, but then he slid the weapon lower, along the Jedi blade. Seeing the motion, Master with a foreshadowing name pushed the lightsaber aside and counterattacked. Phantom pushed the enemy backwards. The Jedi landed on his feet. He suddenly picked up the nearest B-1 droid using the Force and threw it, the machine crying in fear. Danny slashed it in half.

"Don't shoot!" He commanded, before a grin crawled on his previously bored expression. "It just got interesting."

He charged a lighting in his hand and fired. Blocking the stream of electricity with the blue blade, the Jedi ran at the ghost. Phantom intercepted the strike, and Gun Di tried to move the see through lightsaber away, but Danny was much stronger. The ghost didn't try to overwhelm the opponent, even if he was holding the sword in only one hand. Instead of that Phantom's free palm glowed red. Mistaking the meaning, the Jedi jumped back, but immediately got caught in a powerful explosion.

He had assumed it was the Life Draining, one of the most dangerous abilities of the Dark Side. For the victim, of course. He didn't expect a blast, however. His entire body was in pain and he could barely get up. Grunting, the Nikto looked up at Phantom, who was waving his sword nonchalantly.

"Exclamation: Yahoo! Good job, Master!" HK exclaimed.

Danny smirked. "You thought bravely, Jedi, I give you that. Don't worry, I'll spare that Twi'leks. And I'll try not to let the slavers here."

"Then why...why fight in the first place?" The Jedi panted.

"Because I want to get off this Devil's ass as soon as possible. I hate this heat. So I just found a way to kill you faster."

Phantom raised the sword above the General. "Farewell."

In a brief second Danny finished the job. Turning off the lightsaber, he lazily wiped the sand off his robes. Phantom then looked at the stunned clones with an unemotional expression.

"Just surrender already," he said. "I won't repeat twice."


	38. Chapter XXXVIII: Confederate in-game

It was always noisy in Jabba's Palace, except for the rare moments when its owner was asleep. It wasn't one of them. As usual, the main room of what used to be a monastery and what now was a home of the biggest crime lord of the Galaxy was filled with scum of different sorts. Bounty Hunters, other kinds of mercenaries, who were busy with gambling games and ogling at the pretty female dancers, whom their master had graciously showed.

In the center of the room lied the host himself. A massive slug with green wrinkly skin, short chubby hands and nonexistent neck. He was very tall, about two meters, very impressive, considering he didn't have legs at all. The crime lord was quiet, he simply enjoyed smoking through the small pipe, connected to the glass tube filled with a green liquid. Jabba was in a relatively good mood, his son was returned, and the traitor behind all of this would be soon delivered into his welcoming arms. Of course, Jabba would prefer Dooku, but it was impossible to get the Sith. Ziro, on the other hand...

Suddenly he heard a slight crash up the wide staircase through the music. Soon a few Ugnaughts, green pig like creatures, rolled down with a characteristic whines. They were actually the guards. The musicians stopped playing jizz, which was basically the same thing as jazz. Soon a figure went down on a steady pace, followed by an orange droid. The mercenaries' hands reached for their blasters as the newcomer went into the room. Jabba raised his nonexistent eyebrow.

"Greetings, Mighty Jabba," the newcomer said, bowing slightly. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

Jabba puffed a green smoke from his mouth. The guest obviously seemed uncomfortable with the smell. "Who are you?" The crime lord asked in Huttese.

The guest took off the hood, revealing himself.

"I trust you heard about me," Danny smirked.

"I did."

At Jabba's glance the mercenaries took out the blasters and pointed them at the ghost.

"Not exactly the welcome I hoped for," Danny deadpanned.

"Your lightsaber. Now," Jabba narrowed his eyes.

The protocol droid stepped forward, outstretching its hand. Phantom calmly took his weapon and threw it to the droid. With a metal clank the sword hit it in the head, because the droid wasn't able to catch the weapon. Phantom chuckled while almost immobile machine was trying to pick it. No one could understand why he was so chill in this situation.

"You are very brave to come here, Phantom," the Hutt commented. "I thought I made it clear that I don't want to have anything with the Confederacy. Especially after Count Dooku kidnapped my Punky Muffin."

Danny gritted his teeth in order to hold the laughter inside. Oh, big bad crime lord was such a loving father.

"You are still alive only because you are the enemy of Ziro."

"Ah, yes, I took his planet, now I remember," Danny put a hand on his chin. "I have no personal quarrels with you or the Hutt Cartel, Mighty Jabba. Neither I am on the Confederacy business. This issue is more...private. Of course, if this isn't of any bother to you."

Phantom knew that the Hutts never run away from a good deal. Jabba hummed in thought, understanding that Danny was right. Phantom hasn't done anything to him. At the slug's gesture all blasters were lowered.

"Speak," he commanded.

"As I said, this matter is private, sir. And I'd like to speak alone."

"This is not going to happen."

Danny sighed. "Can't you at least leave only the most trusted guards? I don't want the information to get out of here."

Jabba finally nodded and only three mercenaries remained in the room, while the others waited outside. Phantom smirked and looked at the Hutt.

"Thank you. Now let's get to business, shall we? Firstly, I'd like to know how my daughter is doing."

"What daughter?" The slug asked.

"You know, the one who brought Rotto to you."

"You don't look like a Togruta," Jabba said, before chuckling loudly. "Besides, aren't all Jedi orphans?"

"They are simply taken right after birth. And Ahsoka is my adopted child, so there is nothing surprising."

"I see. She is fine, not a finger was laid on her. How would you prove it?"

Danny raised an eyebrow. "Didn't Ahsoka ask you to wait to meet me?"

"So that's what she meant. And I wondered why she whispered such thing. Fine, what do you want?"

"A passage. Not for Confederacy ships, I just need it for development of my regions. Connect them, you know no less than me."

"Hm, everything has a price. I guess I owe you something, but don't think that that will be for free."

"Oh, I didn't. HK, would you kindly?"

"Affirmative: One moment."

The droid took a case and put it on a small table. He then opened it and the room gleamed with a golden light. Jabba looked inside with curiosity and seemed impressed. He reached for the insides of the case, but HK shut it close. The droid gave out a snicker.

"This is the purest aurodium, mighty Jabba. I can grant you much, much more," Danny smiled. "I can't go through the Republican territory, obviously. I beg you to consider the offer and remember that I made the safe return of your son possible."

"I am a man of my word, General. And I already gave my word to the Republic. So if I see a single ship of Confederacy, the entire Cartel will turn against you. And all our influence will be spend on hunting you down."

"You can make threats," Danny said, sounding impressed. "I completely understand. But first make sure that the ships weren't sent by me. You know how the blackmail works. And the Separatist Council doesn't like me much."

Jabba barked a laugh. "I think I like you. Let's discuss the price now."

Phantom smiled.

Hutt Cartel was an unusual organization. The territory in the Outer and Mid Rims under their control was independent. A state within the state. Like Vatican, only ruled by vile criminals. The Republican traders needed to pay for the passage, if they didn't, they were shot down, simple as that. Phantom needed to pay as well, but he managed to get a discount. Because the Empire had promised its traders that the government would cover such expenses. It was to ignite a trade between the Northern and Southern Protectorates. And going through the Hutt Space was the easiest way. Going around the Core would have been much more expensive.

It pleased Danny's ego that everyone now knew about him as much as about Grievous and Dooku. But, unlike them, Phantom was a questionable figure in the Republican media. Because the freedom of speech was still protected, they split into parts, thinking about Danny and who he really was - a hero or a butcher. With the capture of Ryloth they got something else to bicker about.

Danny had some issues on the planet, so after meeting with Jabba he returned there. Phantom was sitting in the room which used to belong to the Twi'lek Clan Council. God, how many Councils were there? The ghost put his legs on the big table in the middle of the empty room. Of course he was smug, and he showed it in every way to no one in particular. Danny was reading the information on his datapad, the reports from his subordinates.

Suddenly the door opened and HK walked into the room.

"Giddy statement: I'm pleased to inform you that we caught the runaway, Master. Shall I bring him in?"

Phantom nodded absentmindedly, and HK went out. Soon he returned, and behind him were two B-1 droids, who in turn pushed a man into the room. He was quite young, probably about the same age as Phantom. The prisoner was a Twi'lek with an orange skin and orange eyes. Now Phantom payed an undivided attention to him.

"Cham Syndulla in the flesh. Have you really thought I have forgotten about you?"

"I honestly would prefer if you don't," he said venomously.

Danny paid no attention to the man's tone. "Take a seat, please, we have much to discuss."

Cham wasn't eager, so HK pushed him forward. The Twi'lek glared at the machine, regretting that he had shackles on his hands. As if reading his thoughts, Danny looked at the B-1.

"Release him, I don't like talking with prisoners."

"Uhm, but he is a prisoner," the droids rubbed its slim head.

He was slapped by HK. "Threat: Just do it, or I'll make a blaster from your pieces."

The droid was scared, so he just complied with the command. When he opened the shackles, Syndulla hit its head and attempted to run for it. Too sad he didn't know that HK wasn't one of those stupid clankers. The Assassin Droid got him and landed a kick into the Twi'lek chest, before taking out a blaster pistol.

"Query: Can I please kill him, Master? And make a necklace from his headtails."

"No, just put our revolutionary back."

HK grunted and pushed the alien back on the seat.

"Damn, what a bloodthirsty one," Cham muttered.

"Appreciation: Thank you, that's an object of my pride."

"Yeah, I think it is a part of his charm," Phantom added. "Now, when you aren't trying to jump out of the window and land on a cold concrete, I'd like to talk about something. Leave us," he looked at the droids. They exited the room.

"Where are the Heads of these clans?" Danny pointed at the empty chairs.

"Why should I know?"

"Well, I dunno, maybe because you are the leader of this rebellion?" Danny raised an eyebrow at the Twi'lek in front of him, before leaning back in the chair. "Since the clan leaders are probably hiding, all responsibility falls to you. Or Senator Orn Free Taa, but this is out of question for us for obvious reasons."

"I will never let that corrupt bureaucrat decide instead of us."

"So I suspected. Now," Phantom drummed his fingers as a servitude droid brought him a glass of beverage. "I must admit, I have a soft spot for revolutionaries like you, Syndulla. I used to be one, after all."

Cham only raised a metaphorical eyebrow.

"Yes, I have ascended to power after leading the slave revolt. I wasn't one of them, but I saw their suffering. Now they are free people and I am still their leader. So far I have been merciful to you all."

"You call this a mercy?"

"You call this a cruelty?" Danny retorted. "I just keep the refugees under guard. Moreover, the Republic supplies were let through. Granted, you aren't getting any weapons. But they are fed, and don't have any problems with water."

"They didn't ask for this war."

"But the leaders did. This IS a war, Syndulla. And you have sided with our enemy. Everything is as just as the war allows."

"You think enslaving our people is just?!"

"I never said that, neither I intend to enslave them. it would have been hypocritical of me. Now, I let you choose how you can get away from this issue."

"I have a choice?" He deadpanned.

"Well, you can become a slave if you want to. Here is my offer. I can ship as many people as possible on the planet where the Confederacy can't reach."

"It's not enough."

"I suspected as much. That's why I have a brilliant idea. Ryloth is not under MY control, sadly. Techno Union got dibs on it first."

"This is not some vase to be owned," the Twi'lek clenched his fists.

"Yes, I agree with you. Anyways, Wat Tambor is coming here soon enough. It would be most unfortunate if the terrorists caused some harm to the Head of the Union."

Syndulla's eyes widened. "Are...are you letting us kill him?"

"No. I'm assisting you. We will fake your escape and help stage a murder. The Union will be in disarray, and this corporation is interested in Ryloth only because Tambor wanted so. Without him, the planet will be left under my control. And since we are the 'Confederacy', I will have the full control."

"What's your gain in it?"

"Simple, the same gain as yours. I gain control and I prevent the slavers from taking your people. I despise slavery as much as you do."

"How can I trust you?"

"Simple. Sign this," Danny handed a datapad. "You will get a copy of this agreement. If I go against my word, you will have a blackmail against me. My signature is already there. I put my trust into your noble ideals, and hope that you won't use it for no reason."

Syndulla was given a stylus. After some contemplation and reading the treaty throughly, the Twi'lek left his signature. Danny beamed.

"Good, you will understand when you have to run. For now, return to your cell. Ta!"

The battle droids entered and carried now shackled Twi'lek out of the room. HK looked at his Master.

"Question: Are you sure it is a good idea, Master? He might use it against you."

"I'd like to see him try," Danny shrugged, leaning back and smirking. He put his legs on the table again. "There is a virus which will delete the data when I need it."

HK gave a little mischievous laugh. He liked his Master's thinking.

Phantom was interested to build schemes. It was so satisfying to watch them being set in motion, it was like putting the last puzzle piece in the picture. This situation wasn't one of those. Assassinations just weren't his thing, they were just so plain and boring. So Danny just let the expert deal with everything, while dedicating himself to something more important.

The Emperor took a brief trip across several Imperial provinces to check how everything was going within them. They were the most vital worlds of the superstate. Among them was Demetra, the planet wide agricultural complex, achieved through terraformation. It was the first of its kind, so his presence there was vital. The planets like this could sustain the entire sectors, but they weren't going to be used in sectors with already fertile planets.

Terra was also on his list of visits. He had issued an order to build a new capital for the planet, not tied to any major country. No one was offended when all common administrations were moved to a small country in the central Africa. Of course, they didn't live in wooden shacks, but in a city build by Imperial standards. Moreover, the climate change took place using special machines. The process of integration was going slowly, and that annoyed the Emperor. It was a weird condition, the entire planet was formally called the Terran Confederacy, under protection of the Empire, but only half of the countries, and mostly those of the third world, were its part for real.

It was even better, Phantom guessed. There was so much potential in that countries, given the required techs and competent government. And the companies were eager to exploit one of the cheapest working hands in the Empire. And given the obligatory education, they were capable of using the factory machinery. The poor countries would make a lasting impression of Imperial prosperity.

As for the Emperor himself, their opinion differed. Many didn't like Phantom's new campaign. They said that enough was enough, the Empire was already controlling most of the Galaxy. But since only a tiny part of the army was used, and they were sponsored by the corporations, their complaints were insufficient. Terra was different from other planets, because its denizens got used to democracy and elective government. And despite the dualistic monarchy, they wanted even more power for the people. Because basically, the Council was not responsible before them, the Grand Moffs were only afraid of their Emperor's displeasure. Danny had an idea, that's why he had called a meeting.

"You want to do what?" Someone from the table asked.

"The Empire needs a constitution. So far there weren't any documents of such importance. Except the Law book. But when our main principles are manifested on the same page as a punishment for stealing a sack of potatoes, something is clearly not right."

Thank goodness he was just overdramatizing. But the point was made, and the Council got to work, under the guidance of the Emperor. Since Phantom was not a tyrant, everything was easy, besides, they just needed to write everything down. However, Danny wasn't ready to fully surrender some of his power. Not now, when he was building plans of Galactic dominance.

He was interrupted from his responsibilities by a sudden call. Shockingly, it was from Count Dooku. Danny was summoned to Serenno. From what he heard, it was the planet where Dooku's title came from. Phantom had no valuable reason to refuse the offer, so he needed to go. He had to use the ship, thankfully Komand let him use hers. It really suited the family of their wealth. Phantom was relieved that the planet wasn't far from Raxus, so it didn't take long. When you can teleport, using transport is really boring.

To say that the protection of the planet was powerful was to say nothing. The Republic wasn't so far away, so Serenno really needed that protection. For Danny it was easy to pass it, being on the same side. He landed on a special platform, a bit rocky, he wasn't used to driving such things. Outside he was greeted by the Count himself, with two Magna Guards standing near him. Dooku had a welcoming smile on his face, looking like a kind grandpa.

"General, what a pleasure to finally talk with you privately," the Count said.

"Same here," Danny responded with a smile of his own. "Nice place you have here," he said as they started to walk in direction of the Palace.

"Thank you, it is our family's pride."

After passing two lines of obelisks and three gardens, Phantom spoke again.

"So, is there any particular reason why you have called me?"

"I enjoy a good conversation. But yes, we need to talk about something, and this is not something what is discussed through the hologram."

They stopped in an office room. It wasn't lit very well, only by the sunrays coming through the green glass. While they sat in two armchairs, the droid brought them drinks. As Dooku made a sip from a tall glass, he continued talking.

"You leave quite an impression, General."

"Call me Daniel," Danny interrupted, before taking a sip as well.

"Daniel. I wanted to ask why you have acted without my agreement on Toyderia."

Phantom raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with it? I captured Ryloth, didn't I?"

"Yes, but you have interfered into what you are not responsible for. Now Gunray is furious."

"For what?"

"He could get a lot of money from selling the food."

Phantom clenched his hand and now empty glass broke. "Flames, sorry for that."

"Not to worry, my friend."

At the Count's gesture the droid came closer again with a tray, where Danny put the glass shards.

"I sense your anger," Dooku commented. "You don't have much love for them, I take it?"

"How did you guess?" Phantom asked sarcastically, leaning forward on his chair, looking at the fireplace. "I hate keeping them around."

"Believe me, Daniel, if I could befree us from their influence, I would have done so. We need their soldiers and money. But what about you?"

"I understand. I'm fighting for the Confederacy because I believe in its ideals. The Senate is corrupt, and people are suffering because of their ignorance."

"And what about the Chancellor?"

"Palpatine? I'm not sure. I was curious about him, so I just dug in for his biography. Amazing how much information the mercenaries can find if given money. He was known as a bratty kid with a love for speeder racing. Then his parents mysteriously die, and Palpatine tried to find his place in politics. Why do you ask?"

"Just a mere curiosity. He is leading the country opposing us."

"I don't judge my enemies just because they are against me. I judge their actions."

"Wise words," the old man took another sip of wine.

"And what about you and the Jedi Order?"

Count tapped his finger on the glass. "That's...private. But I see their corruption, and it is one of the factors which made me leave. I don't remember ever seeing you in the Temple."

"Because I never was there. Except for that time when we played cat and mouse with the entire Order," Danny chuckled, remembering good old times.

"Yet you show an exceptional level of training."

Phantom's cheek greened faintly. "Thanks, I guess. I never had any mentors, in a normal sense of the word, except for my uncle. Bless his soul. It was a strange relationship. He was beating the crap out of me until I learned. He was actually the one who indirectly taught me the swordmanship. I learned by looking at him."

"You speak rather softly about the person who used to treat you this way."

"If he really wanted to hurt me, he would have. I always had a feeling that he was holding back. I was so blind to see that he wanted to keep me away from my horrible parents. Vlad knew that I would never agree to go with him, so he gave the advises whose meaning I've understood only several years later."

Dooku was about to ask something else, when Danny's communicator beeped. Excusing himself, Phantom accepted the call. He was actually relieved, understanding that he had blurted out more than he needed. HK was there.

"Report: I have bad news and not so bad news, Master. Where shall I begin?"

"The worst."

"Syndulla has escaped," the droid responded. Both of them grinned internally.

"And the other?"

"Wat Tambor was killed. His ship was blown up as it was landing."

"Thank you, HK."

As the communication was over, Danny saw Dooku's displeased expression.

"I sense a mirth inside of you."

"Less slugs - the better. Nevertheless, I guess I need to sort out the mess on Ryloth myself," Phantom rose from his seat. "I apologize for leaving so abruptly, but duty calls."

"I hope we will be able to continue the conversation. Too sad it lasted for such a short time."

Danny nodded and left the room. After some time Dooku got up as well, before walking to the holoprojector. Soon an image appeared. An image of the cloaked man, whose face was hidden. Count sat on one knee and bowed his head.

"Greetings, My Master."

"Tyranus," The man on the other man croaked. "You call too soon."

"I know, Phantom had to leave immediately. But I have managed to find out something."

"Speak."


	39. Chapter XXXIX: Ruusan Station

There were a lot things Phantom could think about. Military offenses, economy, intrigues within the Confederacy. At the moment, he didn't want to think about anything of that. It kept happening again and again, and it was nothing out of ordinary. Danny never wished for the power given to him, but he had accepted the responsibility. Despite not needing any physical rest, mental exhaustion wasn't something foreign even to him. The best way to have a rest for your mind is to make it do something different. To read, for example.

Phantom felt something rubbing against his shoulder. His eyes looked to the left and he saw his lover, who was snuggling closer to him.

"It's getting late, you know," he commented softly.

"I know," Komand mumbled with closed eyes. "I'm not a four years old."

"Yes, you are a Senator," Danny turned over the page. "And the tongue has a habit of tying into a knot when you haven't slept enough."

"I hate this job," the Yuth grumbled. "And I hate you."

"Oh, what makes you so grumpy?" The ghost raised an eyebrow, his tone showing that he understood the exaggeration.

"I want to fight, not sit on an uncomfortable green chair," Komand opened her purple eyes and looked into his glowing ones.

Even if they were much more than a Master and his servant, he was still her Emperor, and what he said outsode of their home was an order. Danny sighed, closing the book.

"I understand, dear. But the plan is the plan. We have to follow it through."

"Can't you make at least one little exception?" The young woman made an adorable pout.

"You use. My weapon. Against me," Danny complained, before sighing again. "Is there no way I can convince you to stay here?"

"Nope."

"Well, I think there is a job for you. If you promise not to risk your neck."

Komand nodded and smiled, before giving him a slight peck on a cheek and drifting back to sleep on his shoulder. Phantom meanwhile was contemplating where to send her so it wouldn't be a distant outpost or a massive slaughter. It also shouldn't look like Komand was one of the commanders under his leadership. He was interfering into others' errands more than enough. Granted, mostly with a success, but it irritated the fellow Council members. It angered them even more that they couldn't accuse him of betrayal. Everything he did was for the Confederacy, well, him too in the extension.

The terrorists on Ryloth were 'eliminated' by the General's elite guards. In reality, they were just driven out of the capital, arrested, and freed to go home when no one was looking. However, some had to move to the village, away from the general public's eyes. But that was still better than being sold into slavery. Phantom kept his word, not a single slaver ship made it to the planet. He prohibited their very presence and did everything for that, which made him more popular among the Twi'leks. But Trandoshans and Zygerrians didn't like him much. And they couldn't leave the Confederacy, because their reputation was...questionable.

The day after Phantom had to leave to Hoth. The ice planet, inhabited mostly by tontons, non-sentient creatures which could be used as steeds, and wampas, the beasts which fed from them. As was previously mentioned, it was a hub through which the special synthesised fuel was transported to the Confederacy. It would undoubtedly lead to the planet becoming a target of the Republic when they discover about it. That's why there were multiple ships on the orbit, and, just in case, the Imperial armada was a few parsecs away. If they were to be led into the fight, no survivors must have been left.

"The supplying is going steadily, Your Majesty," the Terran officer was reporting to him as they walked near the huge tanks with ectoplasm. "As you can see, we have more than enough. If only we could refine it on Terra..."

"I said that before, Captain. Your planet is already one of the wealthiest worlds of the Empire. That's why the refineries are based on the planets which have no other ways to earn their own money. Or, as in our case, closer to the battlefields. It's not like we are taking everything you have. Yes, the profits are lower because of transportation, but acceptable. Nevertheless, I'm more than satisfied with the progress you made. I shall take my leave now."

The human hit his chest and bowed as the Emperor disappeared.

Then the Confederacy intelligence found out that the Republic was planning a major offense on all frontlines. And Ahsoka confirmed it, judging from all the fuss in the Temple. Besides, she heard a few words. Another interesting thing was a story about 'Malevolence' - the most powerful ship made by the CIS. It was nine kilometers long, and its main feature was the biggest ion cannon ever made. It could leave the opposing ships completely disabled and helpless against the enemy fire.

General Grievous was commanding the ship, and Ahsoka was a part of the squadron of bombers sent to destroy the ion cannon before it could hit the medical station. It was an atrocious act, Grievous was going to kill the wounded clones stationed there. Thankfully, Ahsoka and her Master Anakin managed to bomb the junction between the ship and its cannon, destroying it completely. They were followed by the Republican fleet, which was ready to destroy the threat, rather expensive threat. But Grievous somehow caught Senator Amidala and held here hostage, hoping to escape. It didn't work out, but the General himself managed to run away, losing the ship in the process.

Of course, it was all spiced by Ahsoka's teenage excitement when she was sharing the story with Danny. Her father was interested in this, not only because he was able to see the situation from different angles, but because he was very amused and proud. Then a message came from Grievous himself. The cyborg said that they needed to create a cooperation plan in preparation for the offense. Despite now having a certain dislike of him, Phantom agreed to come to the Skytop Station, the secret listening post over one of Ruusan moons.

Ruusan was a planet with an amazing history. It was the world where Brotherhood of Darkness, the last Sith organization, long after the Emperor Valcorion's death, saw its demise in a massive campaign. Danny would have loved to explore the place, maybe even found an ancient artifact to put on a shelf. Sadly, it was only the planetary moon.

The moon was covered by the thick clouds of something green. But within the layer was the station itself - a giant sphere floating high in the air. Danny got used to landing the ship by himself, he could only teleport to make sudden visits. It made the bureaucrats fear him. Because the Emperor could walk around the city without a single warning. And if he saw something suspicious, Phantom could start asking questions. And, having the undeniable authority, free the governor from his duties. And if the governors feared the checks, they worked harder.

Phantom wasn't alone, however, Thrawn and Haseas accompanied their ruler. Komand decided against this opportunity, thinking it was going to be another boring meeting. Apparently, she needed something else. Oh, well, the Republic was soon going to give her a chance.

Grievous was waiting for them at the entrance, wearing the same dark cape.

"Ah, General, I see you are in time."

"Yes, quite," Danny said. "Is everyone here?"

"Well, with your accomplices here, we can begin. Follow me."

Grievous coughed and turned around. The other commanders followed him. All the way Grievous kept coughing from time to time.

"That guy seriously needs a pills from cold," Haseas mumbled.

"I doubt that that's the reason," Thrawn responded quietly. "It's unlikely that a ninety percent machine can be vulnerable to such petty disease."

"Says the one who has immunity to it," The Yuth general deadpanned.

Despite being more than a decade older than the Grand Admiral and even the Emperor, Haseas had a note of sarcasm the latter liked the most about him. Danny was busy conversing with the Supreme Commander of the droid army.

"So, I heard about the 'Malevolence'," Phantom started.

Grievous groaned. "Don't you begin talking about it. If not for Skywalker, everything would have worked out."

"History doesn't tolerate 'ifs', General. We just have to learn from mistakes."

The cyborg grunted, but said nothing.

"I can't help but hear about the guy more and more. Quite unusual, do you watch Republican media?"

"I have more important things to do than watch them babbling."

"Well, anyways, I have noticed that they speak about the Jedi...indifferently at least. Like their victories weren't earned by them, who led the clones in the first place. All but one, and that's strange, don't you think? In one review they account the victory to the clones, in another it becomes the sole achievement of General Skywalker. And it's not a one case occasion."

"I'm not interested in politics and intrigues. It's your speciality."

"I wouldn't say that. I started my carrier as a military commander."

Suddenly Haseas choked down the laughter. "Ah, yes, I still remember how you threatened Rylkes with a stick. Wish I could see it personally."

Danny smirked, Thrawn raised an eyebrow, and Grievous just kept walking. The group entered the conference room. On its walls were multiple screens which seemed to have no purpose at all, but B-1s still worked there. In the center was a holographic table, which showed the map of the Galaxy. However, there were no other officials. And Danny commented on that matter.

"All other Council members let me command their forces. You are the only one who doesn't," Grievous responded.

"I don't recall being asked," Danny raised an eyebrow.

"Like you would have accepted," the General gave him a look.

Phantom shrugged, realizing that arguing would have been pointless. Then the High Command got to work. First of all, they needed to determine the points where the Republic most probably would strike. Apparently, Danny hurried too much with Ryloth. Cristophsis was the nearest planet to it, and it WAS taken by the Republic. Thrawn offered to scout ahead and launch a preventive strike while they weren't fully ready. It needed to be done to protect the territories of the Protectorate. It wasn't obligatory to conquer Cristophsis, only destroy the fleet above it.

Most massive attacks, judging from the logic and Grievous' 'reliable source', were going to occur on the big hyperspace routes. They could let the large armadas travel without any troubles. The Confederacy defenses must have been concentrated in the strongholds on the path of the Republic. Yag'Dhul was one of them, if it falls, the cut off enemy forces occupying one tenth of the Republican territory would break the blockade Phantom had organized. Destroying them by pressing an attack from every side was his idea, but now they had to defend, so it was put on a shelf for a time being.

There was a plan of diverting the enemy already thin stratched forces by threatening Repupblican key positions. The main advantage of the CIS was its enormous amount of droids. They could concentrate the forces, make more machines in no time and hit hardly. Haseas wanted to attack Naboo and then push forward to planet Kira. It would form another pocket, and the Confederacy would be able to conquer Malastare - a very important source of fuel. Even if the CIS didn't need any, the Republic won't be getting it as well.

Grievous said that that region was very protected, moreover, their enemy was going to attack Pax system, opening the line to Malastare, so Haseas' plan was also delayed. The Republic wasn't going to push for Raxus, too large distance, too many forposts, too small gain, the CIS could move the capital by a snap of the fingers. Grievous decided to protect the Hydian way, Rimma trade route, Corellian Trade Spine, along with several less important places. It was a wise decision, and Thrawn was tasked with polishing the edges.

What Danny didn't like, however, was that he had to lend half of his ships. He had to protect his territories with so small fleet. Of course, he could use the shipyards in his disposal, but it needed time. Since there were many issues to be discussed, the group had to remain on the station for some time. The Imperials in disguise made toasts in their common living room and drank what was there to drink.

"The situation isn't pretty, is it?" Haseas asked sarcastically.

"Yep," Danny responded dryly. "We can't afford losing our systems. Any suggestions?"

"As the members of the Confederacy you are obliged to help, sir," Thrawn noted. "But the Republic doesn't know that our forces were split in half."

"Well, if they are smart enough, they will be able to understand that if something appears, it dissappears from somewhere else."

"Not necessarily. We can convince them that we just made more of that cheap ships. If they don't know our weakness, they won't be able to exploit it," The Chiss explained, making the Emperor and the Lord General smirk.

"And we will concentrate our forces in order to deceive them!" Haseas said in realization. "But won't that backfire?"

"I'll make sure that it doesn't," Danny responded. "I'll make an announcement that we increase the production of the fleet. The Republic will think that we keep our worlds protected. We have to buy time until the Imperial driveyards will be able to mass produce the completely different and foreign ships. Meanwhile, I'll contact the Keeper. No word must leave this room, and the counter espionage must be the highest priority."

His subordinates nodded.

After that conversation they were very occupied. Since Haseas was more of a tactician, he didn't take an active part in the private planning. Besides, they had nice drinks. When Thrawn asked for some time alone to think up the details, Danny decided to walk around to give his mind some rest. Of course, he could fill himself with alcohol, but drifting to a blissful sleep like Haseas was not an option for his organism. Phantom started walking around the station, passing several patrols and whistling a melody under his nose.

Suddenly he saw Grievous walking through the corridor. He wasn't alone, there was a Trandoshan behind him. The lizard-like alien was fat and small, dressed in the clothes you can see on a plumber. Somehow Danny doubted that the cyborg needed the toilet to be cleaned. Also, there was a blue and white astromech between them, and the Trandoshan occasionally zapped it. Curious, Danny approached them.

"Hello again, General, may I ask where you are going?" He asked in his usual upbeat tone.

The group looked at the ghost.

"Phantom," Grievous greeted without a large enthusiasm. "This is my business, don't pry into it."

"'Private business', huh? Sounds quite...treacherous."

"How dare you ac..."

"I'm not accusing you, I'm saying that we both are military commanders. This droid doesn't look like he was assigned to repair local computers. Neither this stinky lizard."

"Hey!"

"Fine. You can come along, but don't interfere."

Phantom nodded and joined the group. Soon they entered the room which looked like a workshop - with different instruments and the workbench in the center. The astromech let out a horrified beep. Danny felt a huge pity for the droid, because he understood the analogy. Instruments and the workbench for the astromech was the same thing as the scalpels and the vivisection table for the living being.

"You may proceed," Grievous told the Trandoshan.

"Will do, General."

The alien used the device in his hand and zapped the droid, now the shock was so powerful that he shut down with a loud whine. Well, at least he had an anesthesia. With a grunt, the mechanic lifted the droid and put him on the table, lying him to the side. The alien got to work, taking the astromech apart piece after piece. Judging from the lack of screams, its pain receptors didn't work or weren't there in the first place. Thank goodness.

While the Trandoshan was working, Danny conversed with Grievous. Trying to get on the Supreme Commander's good side, he asked about the description of the battles the cyborg had won. Grievous was interested to share how he slaughtered the Jedi on Hypori. People have different hobbies, such as being a collector, and Grievous was one - he collected the fallen enemies' lightsabers.

"Generals," the Trandoshan called, making them look at him.

There was a hologram projected from the droid's visor.

"What is it?" Grievous asked.

"It seems that this droid's mission memory has never been erased!" The alien said in shock and awe. "Every Republican formation, every Republican strategy and movements up until now!"

Danny whistled. "Ancients, we got a ticket to Coruscant," he commented.

"You did your job well," Grievous added.

"Yes, but as it seems, the droid is worth more, which means I must be paid more. Now I suggest..."

Suddenly his chest was pierced with a green lightsaber. The Trandoshan took the last gasp, before falling on the floor as Grievous turned off his weapon.

"Here is your payment," the cyborg spat.

Danny narrowed his eyes. "That was uncalled for."

"This lizard was annoying. He raised the price three times by now."

"I would have paid."

"History doesn't tolerate 'ifs', General," Grievous responded a bit smugly.

The communicator beeped. Danny at first thought it was his, but then the cyborg took out the one belonging to him. It showed an image of another astromech droid.

"Agent R3, report," Grievous said.

The droid beeped. Danny couldn't understand this, because it wasn't technically a language, but a series of beeps, only a few words reached him, the ones he knew from experience.

"The Jedi are here?" The General asked, making Phantom perk up. "Delay them until I arrive."

The droid beeped. Suddenly through the transmission was heard another voice.

"Goldie, where are you?"

Danny's eyes widened in horror and disbelief. It was Ahsoka. The transmission was over and Grievous turned around. Even with all her training Ahsoka stood no chance against him. Several Magna Guards went inside the room.

"Guard this droid," Grievous gestured at what used to be a one piece machine.

Phantom wanted to stop him, but then rationality came on the place of parental overprotectiveness. No, he could be smarter, not only save his daughter, but also gain something else.

"I'll watch the droid," Danny said.

Grievous looked at him strangely with his yellow reptilian eyes. But he said nothing, walking off, but leaving the Guards there. Danny immediately got to work, while the droids kept watching the doors mutely. He soon found a spare datapad lying around. Phantom had decided to copy the information. Better be safe than sorry. Danny connected it to the droid and started to transfer the information. After the process was finished, Danny took the datapad and teleported to the living quarters.

Haseas jumped in surprise and woke up.

"Oh, boss, did you need to barge in like that?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Sorry to interrupt you, but the station is infiltrated."

"Do you wish us to evacuate?" Thrawn asked from another end of the room.

"It would be preferrable..." Danny mumbled in thought.

"But you don't want to run on a probably false alarm."

"Exactly. Stay on guard and be ready to leave. Don't wait for me, I can just teleport."

"Understood," both commanders nodded.

Phantom nodded in response and went off down the corridor, leaving the datapad to his servants on the way. He closed his eyes and tried to find his daughter. She wasn't really far away. Danny was about to fly through the walls, but then his ear caught some sound behind. And Phantom sensed as such. Pretending not to find out anything, he walked forward. When he felt the upcoming strike, in a split second Danny ignited his lightsaber and blocked the strike. Phantom smirked toothily.

"Ah, Skywalker, I was looking forward to meeting you in person," he said, before pushing the Jedi backwards, creating some distance between them.

Anakin took a battle stance, holding his blue weapon. His look had changed since they had met on the Geonosis arena. His brown hair were now longer and messier. He was now wearing a dark blue plastoid armor, which covered some of his vital parts, not hidden under the red, black and blue robes.

"I believe you have something what belongs to me," Anakin said.

"Oh, the droid? He is just down the corridor, third door on the left."

The Jedi blinked. "You aren't going to fight?"

"Well, we can, if you want to wipe the floor with your face. It definitely needs some cleaning."

"Fat chance, snowball."

Danny's shoulders sank. "Why everyone should call me names only judging from my hair?"

Anakin lunged forward, swinging his lightsaber. Phantom blocked the hit and continued calmly deflecting the strikes, while retreating back. He had a plan in mind, and he needed to find Ahsoka. As he expected, the Magna Guards heard the fighting, and went out of the room, near which two Force Users were at the moment. Using the distraction and the reinforcements, Danny decided to leave immediately. Of course, Skywalker thought it was a cowardice, but Phantom simply had other plans.

He phased through the floor, invisible. Then Danny flew forward, since the flight didn't cause any sound. And soon, he got to a large room. It was dark, but Phantom realized it was some kind of a storage room. He heard a clanging sound - Grievous was nearby. He also sensed Ahsoka's presence - she was in a dangerous proximity to the cyborg, who, apparently, didn't see her. Danny looked at the nearest scrap part and flipped it off the table. It fell on the ground with a loud sound. Grievous' head snapped in that direction as he went there. Smirking, Danny flew under the ceiling, landing behind the Togruta.

"You shouldn't have come here."

The teen jumped in surprise, but Danny put a hand over her mouth. Ahsoka then looked up and saw her father.

"Dad?" She asked in shock through the gloved palm.

"Yes," Phantom whispered, removing the hand. "Of all places you were sent here," he shook his head. "You must get out of here immediately."

"How? Grievous is there!" Ahsoka whispered in response.

"Let me worry about the details. I'll distract him, you run..."

He heard a whirring noise. He grabbed Ahsoka's hand and covered her mouth again, before they both turned invisible. Then a golden and black astromech rode past them.

"What was that for?" The girl asked. "He is Anakin's replacement droid."

"He is on OUR side, Ahsoka, he works on Grievous. Anyways, there is a vent up here. Be ready to jump inside."

"Wait, Dad, we have set the explosives to destroy the station. You need to get out of here."

If it was someone but Phantom, he would have destroyed the charges, but the station was of no interest to the ghost, it was far away from the Protectorate. The loss here would have become a nail into the coffin of the Supreme Commander's authority.

Phantom nodded slowly, before he turned invisible again. He got to another end of the room, before pushing the giant shelf forward. It caused a domino effect and got the cyborg's attention.

"You are very clumsy, little Jedi," Grievous said, before walking to the shelves.

Ahsoka got an opportunity to get away. She climbed up another shelf, but to her horror, she accidentally bumped away a piece of scrap metal. The astromech immediately projected the light to reveal her position. Grievous turned around and saw her.

"Where do you think you are going?" He asked, quickly approaching her.

Ahsoka increased her pace, climbing higher and higher. She got on top and tried to open the vent, slowly cutting a hole in it. But Grievous cut off the shelf's leg, making the construction tilt and shake. Ahsoka almost fell, but continued to cut a hole. Phantom, seeing this, lifted a piece of junk in the air and threw it at Grievous. The General quickly turned around and cut it in half so that won't distract him.

Ahsoka used the distraction to jump inside the vent. Grievous growled and jumped higher, cutting the vent from the outside, trying to get her. But the girl managed to get away. The General yelled in rage, before running out of the room. His metal legs gave him an impressive speed and agility. Once Danny was alone, the communicator beeped.

"What is it?" He asked Thrawn.

"We got to the hangers, sir. But we see the battle out of the illuminator, the airlock is closed and we have no ability to get out of here."

Phantom teleported next to the Grand Admiral.

"I'd like to see it personally," he commented, before looking out of the illuminator.

There was indeed a fight, Skywalker and his clone troopers were trying to get to the ship, but, as was previously mentioned, the airlock was closed, and the vulture droids were in a walking configuration, shooting at the Republicans. Some blasts accidentally reached the H-70, but the ship's shields were strong enough.

"We need an astromech," Haseas said. "And they have one," he pointed at the droid Danny had seen taken apart. So Skywalker managed to retrieve his companion. The astromechs had a function of self repairing if given the required parts. The droid was apparently trying to unlock the entrance.

"And they are about to be destroyed," Thrawn commented. "I suggest intervention."

"And that will be me," Danny deadpanned.

"You have the highest chance of survival, My Lord," the Chiss responded in all seriousness.

Then the entire construction shook. Danny's eyes widened.

"Skywalker decided to blow up the station while they are here?!" He exclaimed. "I like this guy."

Suddenly Ahsoka jumped from the vent on top of a 3.5 meters tall machine. The other Vulture fired at her and accidentally shot the fellow droid. The Togruta jumped at it once the droid beneath her was destroyed and cut off the Vulture's 'head'. Danny was literally glowing in pride.

"That's my girl," he grinned, causing Haseas to chuckle.

Despite the fact that the airlock was opened, Phantom didn't want to leave until he was sure that Ahsoka got away unharmed. Meanwhile Grievous got away on his own starship. Then the surviving Republicans flew out of the hangers too, so the Imperials took their leave as well. The station was crumbling down, not being able to stay afloat anymore. It began to descend to the surface. Danny leaned back in his leather seat, taking a sigh.

"Shall we return to Raxus or go to Hoth?" Haseas asked.

"Hoth, you must return to your posts immediately."

Danny then picked a datapad from a table of the black wood, looking at the downloaded information. "We have a lot of job to do."


	40. Chapter XL: The pirates

"Master, can we talk about something?" Ahsoka asked.

It was one of the quiet moments on the unimportant post within the Republic space. Everyone present on Skywalker's flagship was entertaining themselves however they could. The Togruta noticed that there was another trait Anakin and her father shared. They both had a passion for fiddling with the machinery. But if in Danny's case that were ectotechs: blasters, generators, etc, then Skywalker loved modifying his yellow starfighter. And at the moment he was fiddling with something beneath it. Anakin rolled from there on the small platform and looked up.

"Sure, go ahead, Snips."

Ah, yes, the nickname he had given her.

"I just wanted to ask...what do you think of Phantom?" Ahsoka asked carefully.

"He is a coward, ran away and preferred the droids to fight instead of him. Or is it me who is just scary?" Anakin inquired, tightening the screws.

"Uhm, no, you are not, it's just...he saved me, you know?"

Now the Jedi Knight was curious.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Grievous was trying to find me, but he distracted that tin can."

"It could be an accident."

Ahsoka shook her head. "No, he looked straight into my eyes. And smirked."

Anakin was silent. "What could he possibly want from you?" He asked thoughtfully.

"I don't know."

Skywalker shook his head and continued working on the starfighter. Yes, it was a mystery indeed. Unknowingly to him, Ahsoka was memorizing what he said because her father asked her to. Apparently, the encounter on Ruusan gave Anakin the undivided attention of the Emperor. Only Phantom knew what he was planning to achieve with that.

Danny was quite busy at the time, he was busy with protecting his lands. The Republican strategy was now known to him, so Thrawn was able to build an impenetrable defence. Trusting the Grand Admiral's judgment, Phantom let him take all leadership of the fleets and it worked perfectly. It was like a multileveled bear trap, one step to Mygeeto system led to the destruction of an entire attacking force, Thyfera and Bestine surrendered without a single shot were only to make the Republic leave the garrisons, destroying them piece after piece, shortening the amount of the enemy forces, until the numbers became equal, so Thrawn could destroy them.

But then Phantom ordered to develop the victory not on the outside, but to wipe out the surrounded Republican forces on the South, since the reinforcements wouldn't be coming to the rescue. Meanwhile, Danny didn't hurry with sharing the information. He was risking, of course, putting his interests above that of the Confederacy. But no one was going to find out, the data was kept on only one device. After such a devastating defeat the Republic was going to review their strategy, but it was a defeat nevertheless.

The CIS only lost in places outside of Phantom's zone of control. Needless to say that his authority grew immensely. The interesting thing was the 'dictator's' relationship with the Banking Clan. Of course, Chairman Hill still disliked him, and his hatred became even bigger when the fleet left Muunilist, his headquarters, alone. It was a part of the strategic plan. The Republic wouldn't have missed such a desirable prey. And yes, that was a trap.

However, Phantom had other, more interesting and important task.

"No, Dani, that's not how you do that," he commented with crossed hands.

The girl looked at her father as the ectoplasm flushed to her cheeks. It wasn't a private training session, after all. Neither it was a common training, however. It was in the only forest on Babylon. Phantom had thought it was a good place for the Paladins to meditate, being together with nature. And speaking of, most of those who weren't somewhere on the mission for the Empire were watching with curiosity and eager, especially the younger ones. Of course they would be, the Emperor didn't come so often, Komand mostly managed the stuff.

It was a matter of Danny's inner debates how to structure his new Order. Of course, it should have been under his absolute control, so the former Order's organization didn't fit already. And the Sith hierarchy was based on obedience and/or self interests. That's basically what ruined it. Phantom decided to take the best things from everything. Right after him followed Magnus Commendator, the role occupied by his lover. Then there were Magisters, Knights and Acolytes, in respective order. Although the Order maximum consisted of Knights, when there were only two specialists was quite hard. But the Sith could teach them the Dark Side, while Phantom and Komand just added their knowledge about the Light and balancing both Sides. It made everything easier.

"This is a very important stage in developing your powers, dear," Phantom explained to his daughter. "Your core finally starts to develop, and it stars expulsing more and more energy. As I said, you just need to let it all out, don't try to concentrate it like a blast. And I recommend everyone to step aside a few meters away. I recall accidentally freezing the audience when I was training."

They didn't need to be told twice.

"Alright, how do I do that, Daddy?" Dani asked eagerly, shifting on her toes.

"Just let it all out first, your body has to learn not to keep everything inside. Don't concentrate the energy in one place. Verstanden?"

"Yep," the seven years old grinned sweetly, melting everyone's heart.

She then closed her eyes and her face showed that the girl was putting a huge effort in accomplishing the feat. A dim ice blue aura surrounded her, much to the audience's awe. But Danny didn't seem to be very satisfied.

"You are too tense, sweetie, simply relax, like when you are breathing out the air."

Dani did as she was told. Immediately the aura became much brighter. Suddenly with a bright flash a wave of cold was released, covering the ground and some trees in a thin layer of ice, what, with Babylon being a tropical planet, was quite unusual. Danielle opened her eyes, feeling more free than ever. With all extra energy pressing from the inside, begging to be released, she felt much better.

"Good job, princess," Danny praised her with a proud grin and clapping of his hands. "Even though being frozen to the ground was not part of the plan."

His boots were covered in ice as well. Dani gasped.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry, Daddy!" She said worriedly, clutching his leg.

Danny chuckled softly, messing her snowy locks. "Don't worry, sweetheart, you actually did better than me when I was learning. I froze my teacher alive, or, well...you get what I mean."

"Really?"

"Yes," Danny said, freeing out from his boots. "I think that's enough for now. We will practice your new powers later."

Dani beamed and nodded, before taking her father's hand. After Phantom gave some orders, they teleported on Raxus. Komand jumped in surprise at seeing them as she dropped the datapad from her hand. Dani giggled and Phantom choked down the laughter. The woman glared at them from her seat.

"Haha, very funny," she deadpanned, picking up the datapad. "Have you cleaned the bedroom as I asked?"

Danny stopped laughing immediately. He looked at her in confusion and a note of fear. "Uhm, noo..."

Then Komand burst laughing. "Relax, I said no such thing."

Phantom stared at her, while Dani was now snickering at him. Danny glanced at the girl.

"Hey, whose side are you on?" He asked.

"Yours. And Mommy's," the princess responded, before pulling Phantom after her.

She brought Danny closer to Komand and pulled both her parents in a common hug. "Here, everything is fine now!"

The adults laughed and smirked at each other, before kissing each of her cheeks. The girl had stars in her eyes.

"I actually have good news for you, Komy," Phantom looked at his lover, and Komand looked at him as well. "I found a good job. You are coming with me, though, but there is a chance we will get to aggressive negotiations."

"BOORING!" Dani groaned, before running out of the living room.

"Children," both adults said at the same time, before chuckling.

"Anyways, let's get to the point. Dooku is captured."

Komand's eyes widened in shock. "Republic?"

"No, pirates."

"How could he let some gang capture him?"

"Well, I think he will tell us more once we get to Florrum."

"How did you...Intelligence, yeah."

Danny snapped his fingers, showing that her assumption was correct.

"Is there something they can't do?"

"I just know where to send the agents and they do their job. They consist a lot of Terrans, you know, to blend in a human dominated Galaxy. They don't even call each other by names, go figure who they are. One of the operatives, who managed to be put in service on Dooku's ship, thanks to me possessing or bribing several officials, she said that the Count was ambushed, but managed to land on the nearest planet. She also put a beacon on his personal ship. Apparently, the pirates wanted to get this expensive piece of machinery, so they took it with them, leading us to Florrum."

"And what are we going to do?"

"Ransom him. That will undoubtedly win us a certain respect from the Count. For now we must have his sympathy."

"And they had already announced the price, hadn't they?"

"This is precisely why we go there. To discuss this matter."

"I'll go to prepare. Give me five minutes," Komand said with a note of excitement in her voice, before quickly walking out of the room. Danny couldn't help smiling at this.

Soon enough the two were already on their ship. As Komand was setting the coordinates, she looked back at her lover.

"So, where is Florrum?"

"And this detail concerns me. It's TOO close to Korriban. And this is an Imperial territory. Anyways, It's in Sertar sector, grid coordinates R-5."

Komand nodded as she set the coordinates, letting the built-in computer of the ship to precisely calculate the route. Soon the X-70 jumped into hyperspace. The woman leaned back in a soft seat and looked at Danny again.

"So, you were saying..."

"Ah, yes, well, the pirates may try to come on Korriban in search of priceless artifacts of the ancient Sith Lords. Even though I'm confident they are going to die in the first tomb they enter, not everyone may come there. And if this 'not everyone' manages to escape the Sith who now live in their home, as well as our forces, we will get into a lot of trouble."

"You keep Interdictors there, right?"

"Have you ever seen the bill for construction of ONE Interdictor? One hundred and seventy five million credits. Those interdiction field generators are quite expensive, we can't afford sending even one to every system we have."

"And what are you planning?"

"I'd prefer wiping them entirely. Florrum doesn't belong to any state, so no one would notice a gang of pirates suddenly dissappearing."

"Harsh."

"They are pirates, Komand. Imagine how many they had robbed and killed."

She was silent afterwards. After a few hours the ship exited hyperspace above the yellow arid world. The couple had to break their cuddle on the sofa so Komand could land her ship where needed. The beacon showed them the way. She descended the yacht/heavy star fighter there. To her slight surprise, the laser batteries did fire at them. When she voiced her confusion, Danny only chuckled.

"Komy, this ship is covered in chromium and is worth twenty million credits. It alone can cover their life time expenses."

"So they are going to attack us."

"Probably. But we are not going to attack first. Keep it cool. Oh, and take a blaster instead of the lightsaber."

Komand rolled her purple eyes. Danny didn't bother toexplain why did she need to change her weapon, though. They soon exited the ship after landing on a good enough spot. Needless to say that they got a warm welcome. About twenty pirates pointed blaster rifles or pistols at the two. They were all Weequay, with the same rough and wrinkly skin, some had hair brands, others were bald. Komand reached for her lightsaber, but Danny's hand stopped her. When she looked at him, Phantom shook his head slightly.

"What's going on out here?" They heard a voice.

It was said by a guy who went out of the building. He was a Weequay as well, dressed in the horrible bright red coat. He was wearing something akin to motorcycle glasses and a strange cap on his head. Talk about looking extravagant. On his shoulder was a Kowakian Monkey-Lizard - a strange semi sentient creature with red fur, the body of a small monkey, a lizard tail and a bird beak. And this was the captain's parrot, apparently.

"I was enjoying my evening bottle of Nabooan wine and got the unexpected visitors. And unwanted as well," he muttered in the end.

"Don't worry, we won't take much of your time. I simply want to see Dooku."

The pirates shifted, while the captain narrowed his eyes.

"What makes you think that the Count is here?" He asked, crossing his hands. His pet growled at the ghost.

Danny pointed his finger towards Dooku's ship. "You should have searched for the beacon."

The Weequay cursed mentally. He DID order to search for it. Someone was going to lose his head that day.

"And what brings here such a famed General of all people?"

"You know my name and I don't know yours."

"Hondo Ohnaka, a pirate, a smuggler and women's favorite."

'And a guy with an inflated ego,' Komand thought. Hondo then looked at her.

"Oh, what a beautiful young lady you have here," the captain commented, reaching for her.

"Touch me and I'll cut off your hand," she threatened.

Hondo moved his hand away, like he didn't do anything. "Anyways, you haven't answered my question."

"I have eyes and ears everywhere. I have decided to discuss the ransom for the Count."

"I wouldn't have discussed such thing with the Separatists...you could convince me, though."

"Either that or the Droid army," Danny smirked.

"Just as I expected. Seems fair, let's come inside, but first, hand over your weapons. Safety measures, don't feel offended."

After the couple followed the forceful request, Hondo gestured for them to follow, before the other pirates lowered their guns. They soon went into a dark hall, and Danny got reminded of Jabba's palace. Noisy, blaring lights everywhere and a complete lack of dignity anywhere. Well, maybe music was different. Funnily enough, the desert born race preferred a music which sounded Arabian. Danny kept his thoughts to himself. Hondo sat in a chair and put his legs on the table. Komand and Phantom sat in front of him.

"So, I have already contacted the Republic," the captain admitted. "They are ready to pay a million for him."

As he said this, the waitress brought the guests two cups with some green booze. Komand was reluctant, while Danny emptied the cup. He wasn't that worried, poisons never worked on him.

"I don't see them anywhere," Phantom commented.

"They are soon to arrive with an inspection. They don't believe we caught him, can you imagine?"

The couple looked at him with the deadpan expressions.

"Oh, don't give me that look. You politicians are the same."

"We didn't come here for enlightenment from some pirate," Komand said, narrowing her eyes.

"My goodness, how do you live with her?" Hondo asked Danny, making a gulp from his mug.

"Just tell how much do you want and we will go," the ghost responded.

"Again, it is an interesting turn of events. The Jedi coming here might want to trade. We will see."

Komand looked at Phantom. She just couldn't understand why he was so calm or how. Well, Danny was the real politician here, he knew how to hide emotions. But she sensed a slight aggravation. Soon one of the pirates went to Hondo and whispered something to his ear. Of course, Phantom heard it.

"Bring them here," Hondo ordered.

The Weequay nodded and went away. It seemed that the Jedi were here.

"And who exactly did they send?" Danny inquired.

"Hm, I don't really recall their names. Wasn't the priority."

Hondo fiddled with Phantom's lightsaber in his hands. He seemed quite interested in the blade, probably wondering how much it would cost. Soon the Jedi were led inside the room. Once Danny saw who that Jedi were, he groaned and hit the table with his face. Komand looked at him in confusion.

"Ah, gentlemen, may I offer you something to drink?" Hondo asked, pushing another mug to them.

"No, thanks," Obi-Wan said politely, while Anakin grimaced slightly at the green liquid. "So, congratulations for capturing Count Dooku."

"The pleasure is all mine, even a Sith Lord is no match for my mighty warriors," Hondo pointed at his men.

They were in an unconscious state after drinking too much. And the captain's pet monkey was trying to get to the same point. Obi-Wan's eyes caught Komand and a white haired man, whose face was on the table at the moment. They certainly didn't fit the surroundings. Anakin saw them as well.

"And who are you?" Obi-Wan asked.

Komand looked at the younger Jedi, sitting still. "Komand'r, a representative of the Confederate Senate from Phantom's Protectorate."

The Jedi's heads snapped in Hondo's direction.

"Are you double crossing us?!" Anakin exclaimed.

"Nah, it's just us who barged in uninvited."

They looked in the deep voice's direction and their eyes widened. Danny smiled innocently.

"The Galaxy is small, isn't it?"

"What are YOU doing here?" Obi-Wan asked, crossing his hands.

"How about a simple hello, Ben? Nice armor, suits you well."

The Jedi Master was wearing white plastoid, with a Jedi Order emblem on a shoulder plate. It covered his hands emtirely, as well as some body parts. Anakin blinked and looked at his Master.

"Do you know him?"

"Yes, Skywalker, we know each other. I saved his butt back on Geonosis. How do you think he got out?"

"I hope you are not going to make me repay the debt. I'm not to keen on paying the percents."

Danny shrugged, "I may be the richest man around, but I don't have any interest in forcing out what you owe me."

Hondo coughed, getting everyone's attention. "So, you wish to see Dooku?"

"Yes," everyone said at the same time.

One of the Weequays led the group to the prison block. Everyone was quiet on the road, until Komand realized something and gasped. Phantom noticed it.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"We have left Dani alone!" The woman said in concerned tone. The Jedi looked at them in confusion.

Danny chuckled. Komand was simply adorable when she was worried. He put a hand on her cheek.

"Dani is with a droid babysitter, don't worry."

"I don't like leaving her to some machines."

"I believe it's another way around. You know how she is."

"Who are you talking about?" Anakin asked.

Phantom guessed it was pointless to hide this. But Komand was the first to answer.

"Our little snowflake," she said with a tender smile.

"Are...are you two married?" Obi-Wan asked.

"The confusion is understandable, but no, we aren't. We are together, though, and have a common daughter, as well as an adopted one," Phantom answered. "A Senator and a famed General, what a pair."

Anakin's expression became unreadable.

The group was led to a cell, before the pirate opened it. Dooku was hanging there in midair, cuffed by legs and hands.

"My, look who is here," Anakin said with a smirk.

"How low the mighty Sith has fallen," Obi-Wan added smugly.

"I recall you were in the same condition a few days ago, Skywalker," The Count commented as the Jedi walked around him.

"Yes, but I am free now, and you are not."

"Sorry to interrupt your wonderful reunion, but let's get to business," Danny said, causing Dooku to look at him.

"What are you doing here, Daniel?"

"Ransoming you, but the pirates had decided to make us bargain with the Republic for your head. Killing each other is not the way either."

"Be wary of them," The old man warned.

"They are just a bunch of bandits seeking easy money, they don't want to pick a fight with the Jedi," Anakin said.

"They are cunning and deceitful. And most importantly - stupid."

"I wonder why you don't get along," Skywalker responded smugly as he and Obi-Wan started going out of the cell.

"You have so much in common," Obi-Wan finished with a smirk.

Dooku muttered something under his nose before looking at the fellow Separatists. "I put my hopes into you, Daniel. I'd suggest that you call for the fleet."

"I'll do what I can, Count. I had an experience with pirates before."

With that the visitors went out of the room as well. Komand now was very curious.

"What are you planning to do?"

"We will bargain as long as we can."

Something in Danny's smirk was not right. And Komand knew what that meant. Suddenly, as they were going through a small market, one of the pirates ran to them.

"Captain invites you on the Weequay traditional banquet," he informed with a large smile and a slight bow. "It is very rude to deny the invitation."

Danny and Komand looked at each other. "We are going."

Phantom couldn't quite understand how the banquet was different from the party the pirates had some time ago. There was the same arabian music, food, there were even the same drunkards lying on the floor. Nevertheless, he was glad to join the celebration. All the balls back in the Empire were too tempered, people there were too high ranking to do something really unusual. It was boring sometimes. Here he could have a time of his life without the slightest care.

Anakin and Obi-Wan sat across them at the table. It was awkward to say the least. No one said a word to each other, until Hondo appeared.

"Gentlemen, Lady, let me offer you the best stuff we have."

"Just not anything strong," Obi-Wan said. "He is piloting," he pointed at Anakin.

"Wonderful, waiter, bring the booze here!"

Soon the drinks were brought to everyone. But when the waiter saw Phantom, he let out a horrified cry as he dropped the tray.

"Y-you!" He screamed in terror, making everyone raise their eyebrows.

"What's the meaning of this?!" Hondo exclaimed.

"He is a demon! He almost killed us!" The pirate pointed his finger at Danny.

"Have we met?" Phantom asked.

"Five years ago. On Tython!"

The Jedi looked at him in shock, while Komand was confused.

"Ah, were you with that gang who interrupted my pilgrimage? It wasn't really nice, you know?" Danny leaned back in his chair nonchalantly.

"Now, wait a second," Anakin interrupted. "How could you be on Tython if it had collapsed?"

"Simple, I was there before it happened," Danny gave a 'I-know-something-you-don't' smile. The pirate was still shaking. "Hey, quit this already, there was nothing out of ordinary."

"We shot you in the chest! And you shrugged it off!"

"So? I also beated you with bare hands. Thanks for all the weapons you left, by the way. I put them into good use."

"How?" Komand asked as a suspicion crawled into her mind.

Danny smirked. "You can guess, honey. Where do you think I took the first weapons for the rebels?"

Hondo coughed and raised his cup. The pirate meanwhile ran away.

"I'd like to say a toast if I may. For the everlasting friendship!" He said.

He gained several cheers as the mugs were being emptied. The Force Users swiped their cups meanwhile, unnoticed by the pirates. It was obvious that they had added something in there.

"And when are we going to talk about the ransom?" Danny asked after a few seconds.

"You are boring. Right after you have a rest after the party. For now, enjoy the evening!" The captain said, before walking off.

When he was away, Danny looked at the Jedi.

"I propose that we drink for the peace to come soon. It will be rude to wish for the own victory."

"Agreed," Obi-Wan said, before the four drank the contents. "Are you going to tell us about Tython or..."

"Nope. Let's talk about something else."

Anakin finished emptying the cup and put it down. "What I don't get is how a bunch of drunken pirates managed to do something we couldn't."

"Maybe there is a lesson to learn here," Komand noted.

"Yes, that we all aren't protected from mistakes," Danny added.

"And that there is always something to learn," Obi-Wan finished.

They made another toast as three men near them fell unconscious. Why three? Well, Danny had thought that that was pointless to bother about poisons which didn't work on him anyway. Well, that men were alive, at least.

It is unbelievable how friendly a person can become after a few mugs of alcohol. That's precisely what happened. It was also surreal that the Generals from the two opposing sides became drinking buddies. The Jedi most probably wouldn't have drunk in order not to babble out anything important, but the others took alcohol as well. They didn't know Phantom was always sober.

And even if Danny wasn't affected by it, he was still in a very good and festive mood.

"Alright, so here I stand behind him," he was telling as the others were drinking from the mugs. Komand was lying on his shoulder with half closed eyelids. "Of course the guy peed his pants when he felt me pressing a blaster against his back. And guess what? Only when the guards went into the room they told him I was pointing a stick at him all the time!"

Everyone burst laughing, while Komand got into sitting position with a pout.

"C'mon, Danny, you have told this story so many times."

"So? I just like it and they don't know it."

The woman then narrowed her eyes. "I'm bored," she said childishly, before grabbing his hands. Komand then grinned.

"How about a dance?" she asked playfully, jumping off the seat.

"This isn't exactly a dancing music."

Komand snorted. "We can sing," she said like it was the most obvious thing. "Or have you forgotten how you spent your time in Coruscantian Cantina?"

Danny chuckled. "It was long ago, Komy."

"I never heard you sing, honey. C'mon, let's do the one you read a few days ago."

"What do you...oh."

"Yes, doofus, oh."

She then jumped on the table, much to everyone's surprise. Danny chuckled and jumped after her. Anakin looked at Obi-Wan.

"Well, it should be interesting."

It all began with a slight, but increasing stomping of the feet. Danny was the one who started.

"Blunt the knives, bend the forks

Smash the bottles and burn the corks

Chip the glasses and crack the plates

That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!"

The dancing became faster and Komand joined his singing as their held each other's hand.

"Cut the cloth, tread on the fat

Leave the bones on the bedroom mat

Pour the milk on the pantry floor

Splash the wine on every door!"

Komand kicked the mug and it flew into some pirate's face, knocking him out effectively. It became a catalyst for a kicking of everything what was near them.

"Dump the crocks in a boiling bowl

Pound them up with a thumping pole

When you're finished if they are whole

Send them down the hall to roll!"

Danny and Komand took both each other's hands, their heads a few inches away as they had bright smiles on their faces.

"That's what Bilbo Baggins hates!" They said the final line of the song.

The hall erupted into cheers and clapping of those who remained conscious. Danny grabbed his lover's waist, earning a happy laughter from her. He jumped off the table while still holding her. Phantom noticed that the Jedi were laughing their butts off.

"Well, it sure was impressive," Obi-Wan commented, wiping his tear.

"Yeah, even though your voice doesn't really fit," Anakin added.

"No one asked you," Komand grumbled, before hugging the ghost's neck. "My Danny is the best!" She said, before kissing his cheek and making him laugh. And he wasn't the only one.

Danny kissed her on lips, before situating Komand on his lap. Both Anakin and Obi-Wan could clearly see how they loved each other. And while the latter didn't approve of this, the first felt really jealous.

Soon two humans and one yuth started to feel dizzy. Of course, liters of booze couldn't leave no effect. Komand was the first one to fall asleep near her lover. The Jedi, even with their trained willpower and mental strength, fell unconscious. Danny wondered how they were going to feel once they woke up. He picked up Komand and carried her bridal style. Their ship wasn't far away, but Phantom teleported there nevertheless. He put her on the bed and moved the cover above her.

It was much better than that on Fury. White walls seemed wonderful with the dark wood pieces lining them. Once in the main room, Phantom was greeted by a voice.

"You could be faster."

"Oh, really, Count?" Danny crossed his hands and looked at Dooku. The old man made a sip of tea from the cup. "It is still better than being locked up."

"Agreed. Forgive my rudeness."

While everyone was at the party, sneaking away the prisoner was no effort at all. Dooku had to wait, though. A sudden leaving was going to seem too suspicious. Danny was going to send a duplicate to take care of the Jedi, so they weren't going to be captured. He liked the two, again, a drinking party was the best way to become friends. Too sad they were on different sides of the conflict.

"Do you wish the pirates' destruction, Count?" Danny asked.

"They must pay for their insolence. But I will let you decide. Think of it as a small thank you."

Oh, so he finally had a sanction to get rid of the threat to the Empire's security.

 **A.N. Phew, forty chapters. We have breached the edge of two hundred thousand words. Thank you all, guys.**


	41. Chapter XIL: The rising threat

**A.N. Merry Christmas, everyone! Or maybe it's too early or too late. Still, have a good time!**

"To order, to order, gentlemen!" The governor called over the loud chatter.

It seemed that the UN building was becoming more and more noisy. Since it had been a govermental body for over four years, the debates became more lively. It was like a boiling pot. Too many powerful nations with their own personal interests, held together only by a common Imperial hegemony and the same amount of Star Destroyers above the orbit as Babylon itself. They just waited to start an argument, and now was such an occasion.

"I don't clearly understand the problem with the issue."

"Well, maybe because the Emperor had sent an alien lapdog?!" Someone called from the hall. Over the chatter it was impossible to detect who said this.

Well, whoever said this was correct, and that's what was most insulting. Phantom needed to find someone without any ties to Terra, in order to prevent the separatism support, and it should have been a near human race, because the Terrans weren't used to alien appearances. So, it was a Chiss. He had proven to be a valuable administrator on one of the planets, so being a co-governing figure on the Empire's second most valuable planet was one hell of promotion.

When the deputies calmed down, one of them decided to explain everything. The UN had been unofficially split into two factions - Pro-Imperial and Anti-Imperial. The delegate was from the latter.

"You see, Mr. Vresto, we have met this thing before and we are not eager to repeat it."

"The five year plan has given a jump start to the Imperial industry," the Chiss reasoned. "You are speaking of 'communists', I presume?"

Of course, he wouldn't have been put in charge without learning the basics of Terran history. The governor got several nods.

"The Soviets had good results at the beginning, too. Look where it has gotten them."

"No one said that the system is perfect, nor that it will be constant," The Chiss said from his place on the tribune. "The fact is, the Emperor wishes to achieve an economical growth in a short period of time. No one here speaks of abolishing capitalism. The companies must simply follow the instructions given to them from time to time, in order to prevent the massive collapses. And the High Council doesn't demand the impossible. We are not an old Empire which was mercilessly using the labors to build everything it needed in no time."

"And who is responsible for creating those plans?"

"The leading economists of your planet, the list of that individuals will be presented to you by tomorrow. You have hundreds of millions of workless and starving people, while some Imperial planets have none. This is precisely the purpose of the plans. After building up, the industries would go to the private hands. Your planet is one of the later joiners, so the first plan didn't concern you. Now half of the Galaxy is under the Emperor's rule, and each planet must follow through with the second plan. Terra should have no problems with this, since the ectoplasm alone grants you an enormous wealth. You should fit the image."

"Why does the Emperor think that we 'should'?"

"Because you have a choice only because he has let you to. The investments are being put into development of the planet."

"Not as much as in the military. Why does the Empire put fifty percents of its income into an army when there is nothing threatening it?"

"Should we talk about this on each session?" Another delegate asked his opposing colleague.

"And I shall repeat that it is to maintain order in stellar state. Many members of the Empire are ready to tear each others' throats and only the threat of the central government's intervention prevents them from killing each other. The Republic..."

"Stop talking about the Republic already. It's not the Republic we live in right now."

"The smart people learn from others' mistakes. And we see that the local conflicts, which the Republic wasn't able to prevent because they didn't have an army for thousand years, has finally led to a full scale civil war. Is this what you want?"

The delegate didn't say anything. Freedom of speech may have been granted, but talks about separation were punishable. There was that thin border.

"Returning back to the topic, the President has already approved the plan, now it must have the agreement of the United Nations Comitee. If there is nothing else to say, I propose that we start voting."

With rustle and whining, the plan was approved, barely getting the majority. The Emperor was going to be notified of this. Terra was like a gunpowder keg. Too arrogant to understand the importance of the Imperial influence. Phantom could simply initiate protocol Delta-17 and excavate the ectoplasm from the ruins of what used to be an inhabited planet. A few Star Destroyers could wipe out everything during the orbital bombardment. This protocol was used only once. In Phantom's defence, a carnivorous hive mind was a threat, besides, no one was going to find out.

Vresto had a tense relationship with President Lee. The latter was neutral in the matters concerning the Empire, but he sometimes put the interests of Terra above those of the state, showing where his loyalties lay. The governor didn't think that bothering His Majesty over this had any point. Another issue was the 'Ghost Zone'. It was like an autonomy within the autonomy, and the cooperation between the Imperial holdings on the both sides of the portal was vital for its prosperity.

It was obvious that the industries had to grow in size to fill the needs of the ever growing Empire. That meant further expansion. It was hard, considering that everything there was positioned on the chunks of the ground floating in a middle of nowhere. The Far Frozen tribe had agreed to give the maps of the local places, showing their utter loyalty to the Emperor. In return, the special division of Stormtroopers helped them fight back the 'Fire Lizards' as the soldiers nicknamed them. Moreover, it was an opportunity to seize the lands of that ghosts.

The Imperial forces showed themselves exceptionally powerful, settling fear and awe into the locals. Their armaments were a true piece of art, created by Danny and the war scientists of IRB. The ghost division's armor was made of the plastoid with a thin inner layer of ectoplasmic composite. It granted a certain level of resistance against the blasts, fire and ice. It was also quite expensive. But damn it all, that was worth a lot. Not only the division was armed with such protection, the Death Troopers had them as well. Not to mention ectoplasmic weaponry.

The governor also took part in the relationship with the Realms' holders. The Ghosts didn't want to mess with the Empire, but they didn't want it to boss around as well. Vresto sometimes accepted embassies from the locals, and he heard some jokes about the colonists and aborigines. There were some similarities. The Chiss wasn't the one to joke around, basically like many of his race, the Grand Admiral was a very good example.

At the moment Vresto was signing the documents on his datapad while sitting at the table in his office. It was roomy and well decorated in a firm Chiss style, which meant that there was nothing extra, except for a few pictures and pretty vases. There wasn't any furniture besides the desk and three chairs. The biggest picture was hanging on the wall behind the table. It wasn't written down anywhere, but every high ranking official had the same replica of the Emperor's portrait drawn by one of the best artists of the Empire.

Vresto's secretary called for him and told that there was a visitor. He told her to let the apparent ghost enter. The doors slid open and the shiny metal ghost entered the room. The Chiss raised his eyebrow and leaned back in his seat.

"I hope this meeting is important, I have a lot of job to do."

"Relax, I don't need you exactly. I need the whelp," Skulker said, dropping on the chair.

"I beg your pardon?" The Chiss asked, causing the armored man to roll his eyes.

"I call Phantom however I want. Has been since he couldn't even shoot a proper ectoblast."

Vresto looked at him strangely. "You know the Emperor?"

Skulker snorted. "I almost managed to get his pelt. I need to talk to him, and you might have connections for that."

"His Majesty is quite occupied. I'm not going to bother him for no reason."

"It is a reason. I take the responsibility on myself."

The Chiss furrowed his eyebrows, but then finally made a call.

"Governor," Phantom greeted through the hologram. "How can I be of assistance?"

"My Lord, there is a guest here, he says he knows you."

"Hello, whelp," Skulker said with a smirk once Danny looked at him.

"Hello, tin can," Phantom responded, not showing any sign of being offended. "So what is it you want to discuss?"

"I want to meet personally. This isn't something discussed through the...hologram."

"I'm listening."

Both men's heads snapped in the direction of the voice. Phantom was leaning against the wall with a smirk on his face. The governor jumped from his seat as his dark blue shoulder cape was thrown back. The Emperor gestured for him to sit back.

"You are quick," Skulker deadpanned.

"Isn't it what you needed?" Danny raised his eyebrow before sitting on a chair with crossed legs. "Well? I'm listening, and be quick, the Republic wants to take their worlds back and I have to be there."

"Anyways, did you know that some ghosts still hate your gut?"

"My goodness, if you keep going you will tell me that the planet is round," Danny said sarcastically.

Skulker narrowed his pupiless green eyes. "Oh, so you don't need me to tell you that they are rallying their forces to drive your lovely Empire out of the Ghost Zone?"

Phantom's look remained neutral. "And why you of all people are telling me that?"

"Well, I wanted to ask about the favor in response."

Danny shrugged. "And that will be..."

"This world is kind of bleak. Besides, Ember would like to travel, maybe start a tour when the kid grows a bit."

Phantom chuckled. "And you want to get out of here, but you don't have a single sestercium. Yes, I see the problem. Governor."

"Yes, My Lord?"

"After we are done, give him the list of more suitable planets and notify me. I'll cover the expenses."

The Chiss nodded, while Skulker was a bit stunned. Phantom looked back at Skulker.

"So, how do you know about this and who is plotting?"

"They sent me an invitation," Skulker gave a small piece of paper to the stark haired ghost.

Danny examined it throughly, and the hunter's words were proved correct. But his eyes widened in shock once he saw from whom this letter was. His eyes glowed brightly as he stuffed the piece of paper in his pocket.

"I thought that I got rid of that Pumpkin head," he growled.

"By the way, what happened between you and him? I mean, we all heard about what happened..."

"Well, a few months before my capture Fright decided to go against Vlad's instructions because he wanted to fight me. We fought, I won and stuffed that idiot back into the pumpkin, before throwing him where the sun doesn't shine."

"Eeh..."

"The Pit. But apparently he landed on some chunk of the ground."

"You do realize that this is against the Observants' rules?"

"Like I care what that floating eyeballs say. I am the Emperor here."

"And that's precisely why they will most probably ally with Fright. Maybe even crown him if the need arises."

Phantom burst laughing. For about ten seconds. He then got up. "Funny joke. I'd like to see them taking the crown from Pariah's head. He will snap their necks the second they wake him up."

"Fine, you are a politician here."

"Hm, I think I can now see the real reason why you want to get away," Danny patted the other ghost on his shoulder. "Your baby boy will be in a middle of war if you stay."

"How did you..."

Danny made a quiet laugh. "I'm not that clueless and naive teen, Skulker. Nothing is done without a proper target in mind. If it was for Ember only she would have earned the money by herself. She could make you sell your trophies. I know her no less than you. But she would never ask anyone, me especially, to save her butt."

Skulker was silent. Damn, the whelp had grown up. Vresto meanwhile watched in awe at his monarch's intelligence.

"Anyways, who else is with them?" Danny asked.

"I heard the rumors that Aragon was bailed out, but Dorathea denies them. If YOU confront her she would probably tell you."

Phantom made a mental note to do exactly that. Just what he wanted, a dragon on the loose.

"Next."

"That's basically all I know, Fright always was and still is a commander of Pariah's armies. That's already seventy thousand minimum."

"No need to retell me this. You may go, we will notify you. Do you live in the same place?"

Skulker nodded and left. Phantom put his hands behind his back and looked out of the window.

"Vresto, I want a report on every Stormtrooper we have on this planet and every vehicle we have. The manufactures must work in as much shifts as possible and make enough guns. Notify the garrisons."

"Sir, is this required when we can send the troops from another garrisons?"

"Fright's soldiers are unkillable, governor. Kill one and it will resurrect mere seconds later. I want the Citadel to be filled with soldiers to the brim."

"But how are we going to win? If they can't die."

"Simple, their leader can. I will tolerate no failures, governor."

"But why can't you send reinforcements?"

"Because we do not need an extra attention. Just imagine what the Terrans would think if the war comes almost to their doorstep?"

"But this is a matter of vital importance, Your Majesty."

"We need a strategic victory, Vresto. If we win easily with the reinforcements, then we would probably have problems nevertheless because of the humans who don't want us to cause conflicts near them. We would probably have to leave or use brute force. And that's precisely what the ghosts want. It will cause even more hatred and then everything we worked for will be lost."

"You seem to be confident that three thousand men and women will be able to hold back such a large army."

"They are armed with medieval swords and bows. We have lasers and a fortress built using the cutting edge techs. Now I'll have to explain why we have ectoplasm shortages," Phantom mumbled, rubbing his chin and putting another hand on his white belt. "You got your instructions, I'll send who is needed here."

"It shall be done, My Lord," the Chiss stood straight and bowed. "I trust your judgement."

Phantom nodded and dissappeared in a cloud of smoke.

He was not happy. It was like Fright Knight knew when to attack him. Danny had his plate full, the Republic was planning to send a large assaulting force to take back Ryloth. It attacked several worlds at once and was too close to Hoth. He already had to split his attention everywhere. He couldn't leave his forces at the frontline. But leaving Terra undefended was not the way either. He had to choose. And Danny decided to send to his homeland certain individuals. Komand was among them, she was looking for a fight. And there was also one expert in fighting the Ghosts. That's why he decided to pay a brief visit on Babylon.

It was funny how one simple hood hid him from everyone around. Not that Danny complained, he was amused how one could bump into him and insult him for that. If only that nameless clerk knew who he had encountered. Danny decided to do it more often. However, greeting on the reception was not something he was eager for, so he just went for the apartment he needed. Of course Phantom knew where they were, he had previously given that room.

The corridors looked rather fancy, and the window in its end showed a wonderful view on the megapolis. Danny knocked at the door. He didn't want to be impolite and just teleport inside. That required a more diplomatic approach.

Soon the door slid open, revealing Mr. Gray behind it.

"How can I help you?" The dark skinned man asked.

"I didn't know the hood was so effective," Danny smirked and took it off.

Damon's eyes widened in shock. "Your Majesty, I didn't know..."

"I understand, it was on a spot decision. Didn't have time to warn you. May I come in?"

"Oh, of course," The man stepped aside and let Phantom come inside.

Yes, that was just surreal that one of the most powerful men in the Galaxy casually went into someone's apartment. But that's precisely what happened. Danny phased off his white boots and stepped on the wooden floor.

"Dad, who is there?"

Phantom smirked. He seemed to have picked a wonderful moment. Valerie went out of the corridor and then noticed the guest, freezing on one place.

"Good day, Val. It's been a while," Danny moved his hands, showing that he was waiting for a hug.

And Valerie got the gesture and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Woah, easy there, I have a girlfriend," Danny joked as his friend let go of him.

"What are you doing here?" Valerie asked.

Phantom's face grew serious. "Let's take a seat first."

A few seconds later they were in the living room, where Danny explained the situation while the hosts sat on the sofa.

"And what do you want from us?" Damon asked.

"From you, nothing, Mr. Gray," Phantom said, looking out of the panoramic window with hands behind his back. "I need Valerie."

"I'm not going to let my daughter on the battlefield," Mr. Gray crossed his hands.

"Dad, I'm an adult now. I think I can decide myself," Valerie said.

"I'm still your father, Valerie, and I say no."

Danny's lips thinned, as his back was still turned to them. God, he hated to come to this way.

"I'm afraid that's above your competence, Mr. Gray," he got their attention. "If you are curious, I'd like to quote the ninth article of the Imperial War Codex. 'A person is obliged to go through the military services by the following instruction of the Emperor(Empress) or the High Council. The amount of time in the military depends on a range to two years, unless a person decides to stay there. The mobilization used with the stated law applies only to the ten thousand individuals from each planet.' So yes, the amount of soldiers from Babylon is yet to surpass that amount. And I have the right. But I still would like this to be voluntary. This is only for one time. I need a specialist in fighting off the Ghosts."

"I agree," Valerie said immediately, before noticing her father's defeated expression. "Dad..."

"I promise that no harm will come to her, Mr. Gray. She won't be alone, after all."

Mr. Gray sighed grimly. "It's not like I have any choice for that matter."

Danny held back his usual retort and just remained silent. A few seconds later he spoke again.

"Then it's decided. Take the nearest shuttle to Terra whenever you are ready. But be quick. We have no time to waste."

Said and done. Two days later Valerie was already loading her trunks into the luggage terminal. She got a VIP place, making her wonder how much money was in the Emperor's fund exactly. Well, Phantom technically owned a monopolistic company which granted enormous wealth. As much as productive powers allowed. The indusries couldn't yet refine ectoplassm for the Confederacy AND the Empire. About ninety six percents went to the Protectorate and the CIS.

The road went peacefully, Valerie got a personal room. It wasn't big, but others had to use simplier train-like coupes. The outside view was kind of blank, though. There was nothing to look at in the hyperspace. But Valerie was left to herself, thinking about how sad her father was. It was only for one time, she kept assuring herself. Finally the shuttle exited the subdimension near the Moon. It was more simple and cheap to make a spaceport there and add transports to the surface. There were also mining facilities which excavated Helium-3 - a very valuable resource.

When Valerie was walking to the main hall, she heard a familiar voice calling for her. She looked in that direction and smiled.

"Hey, Komand, long time no see."

The Yuth smiled too, but Valerie continued.

"That's weird that no one here reacts on you being here," she commented as they went to the entrance.

"You Terrans are not that interested in the Emperor's whereabouts. Save you, probably. Besides, I'm not that much of a public person."

They both chuckled, before entering the elevator.

"Nice clothes."

Komand looked down at her dark red fighting robes. She shrugged. "I like what I wear."

There was a special hanger for the officials' ships. Needless to say that X-70 left a very good impression. The two got to the surface and later they were already on the opposite side of the portal.

The Citadel, as was previously mentioned, was a fortress built in accordance to the modern times' demands. Its metal walls were as dense as the Star Destroyers' hulls, but since that were ghosts they were fighting against, they weren't much of a defense. But it was a high ground, and that granted superiority. The industries were based in certain spots, protected by different garrisons. The biggest was located within the Citadel's borders and just under the walls.

Komand led Valerie to the HQ. Several squads of the Stormtroopers went nearby, going through the preparation drills. Some glanced at the two curiously. The artillery batteries were situated on the special positions so they would be able to fire above the tall walls. Walkers and tanks were ready to move out through the huge gates. There were even starfighters, near which the pilots and mechanics were working. Some smart ones drew pictures on their black wings. All the military atmosphere was mixed by the workers of excavation facilities, along with the droids.

The central building was filled with soldiers as well. The corridors had a lot of crimson Imperial banners. Komand tapped on the buttons of a door and it opened. The HQ was occupied. While some officers kept scanning for the enemy activity. Near the holographic table were two men. One of the officers was wearing usual black and dark gray uniform, with rank pad indicating the rank of Marshall. He was a man with a slightly overweight complexion, balding, with brown eyes and hair. Another one was more interesting. He was dressed in the same uniform, but without the rank pad, with black cape and a cap. Oh, just great, what a Commissar was doing there?

"Gentlemen," Komand greeted.

Two officers stood straight with a spark of fear in the Marshall's eyes and a spark of awe in the Comissar's.

"Milady, we didn't know you were coming," the first one said.

"I'd like to say that that's an honor to meet the Emperor's hand in person," another added, bowing.

"Thank you, Comissar," Komand nodded. "I was sent here by His Majesty to ensure the victory."

"And who is this?" Marshall asked, pointing at Valerie, who clearly stood out.

Smirking, the woman pressed a few buttons on her watch and in a split second she was already wearing a red and black suit, with a helmet hiding her face. Everyone blinked in surprise.

"How did this fit inside?" Comissar asked.

"Well, this is an old thing. A little present from my former employer," Valerie said, before removing the suit. "I'm an expert in hunting down the undead, so Phantom asked me to assist."

"Really? What could you possibly do?" Marshall asked doubtfully.

"The Emperor must have a reason," the Comissar responded. "We shouldn't doubt him."

"I recall him saying completely opposite," Komand put in. "Anyways, what's the situation?"

"Well, we have just received a report that the Northern facility was invaded. It's four hundred miles from here. We had been notified, so we managed to evacuate the post. We sent a ship to scout the movements of the enemy. But it's hard to navigate through this hellhole. Besides, he didn't come back. He is probably dead."

"I see...what about our defences?"

Meanwhile, many, many miles away were two ghostly beings. They looked exactly alike and dressed in the same yellow cloaks with huge black collars. They didn't have legs, only spectral tails. Their hands were long, ending with long, thin and boney fingers ending with claws. The ghosts' skin was bright green, they didn't have necks, only oval shaped top with one huge eye. They were flying through the sky of the Ghost Zone.

"This is insane. We can't do that," one of them muttered.

"The brat leaves us no other choice. If they kill each other, we will only win from this."

"But if they don't?"

"Have you forgotten what we have forseen? They WILL."

They were called Observants for a reason. They, as well as Clockwork, could see the future in the tiniest details. But Clockwork saw much more, but was never allowed to act, unlike his much despised counterparts. The feeling was mutual, they had ordered to kill Phantom, not teach him a life lesson! Because they saw what opposite opposite outcome could be. Their kind of ghosts played a role of regulative body in the anarchic ghostly society, and when the power was slipping through their fingers into Phantom's hand, they couldn't allow this.

The Observants were quietly flying through the dark corridors.

"But what if Clockwork sees us?"

"Have you forgotten that we can't see each other's actions? He won't find out if you will be quiet!"

One of the ghosts raised his clawed hand and traced it along the wall in a special pattern. The wall dissappeared as if it was never there. Of course he knew about the secret. The Observants were the ones who built that place. The room was poorly lit, with only one small pillar. On the pillar stood a...a silvery thermos, with green outlines. It had several dents and bumps, like if it was punched from the inside. The Observant picked it up carefully.

"We won't use it before the battle. Only if Fright Knight fails our expectations."

The second Observant nodded.


	42. Chapter XIIL: A battle for the Citadel

"My fellow Council members, I'm afraid I have bad news for you," Danny said during the closest meeting which was at the day after Valerie and Komand got to the Ghost Zone.

"And what would that be?" Gunray asked.

"We should expect ectoplasm shortages, so we better store a normal fuel for a while. I'd suggest attacking Malastare immediately."

"Don't try to avoid the question, Phantom," San Hill interrupted. "Why do you have problems with it?"

Danny leaned back in the seat. "You know how the locals are. They don't like that my company has stepped the feet on their land. Despite the fact that I have old allies among them, I've gotten a lot of enemies during my childhood years."

"How could you get serious enemies during childhood?" Dooku asked.

"Hey, I beated a ten meters tall dragon when I was fourteen. And a giant sentient plant which controlled the nature around. And a being which could control weather. The latter was executed, I recall. And all of them hate me with passion and now are taking revenge because back then I wasn't able to commit a single murder. They won't be spared this time, unless I think they will be useful."

"Do you need the Confederacy assistance?" The Count interested, sounding impressed.

"No. The situation there is too complicated. Besides, Terra is outside of anyone's reach and I'll keep everything this way."

Gunray growled. He hated that upstart.

"What I DO need are reinforcements so I could counterattack while the Republic is distracted by their defeats and minor victories on my frontline. We must pursue theirr retreat."

Meanwhile in another plane of reality the Imperial forces were preparing for the upcoming assault. Valerie had been busy with teaching the rookies how to fight the ghosts. There wasn't much, really, they had an experience before. The huntress decided to talk to her friend once she got a spare minute. If Komand wasn't busy, that is.

When Valerie entered the room, she saw Komand talking with someone. It was a male Sith dressed in black plastoid armor and a metal mask.

"My lady, just let us do what we came for," the Sith said in a bit metallic voice.

"Lord Horus, I understand your eagerness, but if you run off then your people will be utterly crushed."

"We will see about that."

"Do not underestimate our enemies. They are of the same race as the Emperor, and you saw what he is capable of."

"Yeah, you certainly did," Chorn mumbled, not implying the power on the battlefield.

"What did you just say?" Komand's eyes glowed infernally.

"Nothing, milady."

"If you are that willing to fight we will send you in the avangard. Now go."

The Sith bowed and turned to leave. As he was passing Valerie, Chorn slightly pushed her out of the way. The woman could see a smirk through the faceless mask he wore. Valerie then sat next to Komand, who was eyeing the place where Chorn once stood.

"So, who is this guy?" The huntress asked.

"Well, you heard his name. Horus is the main Sith Lord around. After Danny, of course. He sent Chorn and his buddies so they could help. There are also some Paladins, but they are under my leadership."

"Horus is a bit of an as..."

"Yes, he is. But he is loyal, of that we have no doubts." Komand leaned back in her seat. "There are seventy thousand ghosts by the most approximate counts. They will be here by the evening."

"And we have only ten," Valerie finished grimly. "Not the best odds. Where did they take so many?"

"Danny said something about 'Pariah's army'. He told me who the guy was, but..."

Valerie's eyes were ready to jump out from their places.

"Well, I can tell you. When Pariah awakened I was in the town. This army is unstoppable as long as their leader exists, because they don't have cores of their own and feed from his power. That's why they are so weak. One punch and they crumble, even though they then reassemble again."

"So we need to hope that that 'Fright Knight' won't be too scared to hide behind."

"He won't, Fright may be malicious, but he is a man of honor. And enormous arrogance. He probably wants to fight Danny...Damn, I wish he didn't wear that helmet so I could see his face when he realizes that Danny is not here."

They chuckled.

A few hours later Komand was standing on the wall of the Citadel with a thermobinocular in her arms. All commanders were standing near her, someone was looking there as well. The soldiers looked from under their white helmets. Komand obviously held the highest position there, her words were taken as if the Emperor himself said them. But she listened to the advices. Komand saw an advancing army on a distance.

Mostly it was composed of the green glowing skeletons. It was a terrific view for many - an endless horde of limping bodies, dressed in medieval or roman armors, or dressed in the torn uniform and carrying machine guns from the Second World war. Some had lost their limbs, a leg, or a hand. Add to that deformed green beasts with crimson red eyes. There were also more proper warriors, wearing a decent armor. Damn, there were even droids. Ghost Zone was truly a place where time never mattered and the matter was distorted.

In the center was another knight in pitch black armor. He certainly stood out from the rest. The Knight was wearing a black helmet. It wasn't closed, but the face was hidden in the shadows. Only two glowing green dots were seen. He wore a cape which looked like it was made of purple fire, its tongues touching the horse below him. And what a horse, a black steed covered in armor, with fiery mane and tail, along with the huge leather wings.

"This is Fright Knight, I take it?" Komand asked Valerie.

"Yep. That's him."

"I never thought he existed," Comissar Julius commented with wide eyes. Apparently they took him because of the name. Being a Terran, he heard the legend.

"Well, I guess you don't have a pumpkin around here?" Valerie looked at him, while every present alien turned to them curiously.

"To stop the Fright..."

"To end the fear..."

"Hey, you two, we don't have all day," Komand stopped them from quoting the poem. "Comissar, get to your duties."

Julius nodded and went off. He got to the tribune in front of the Stormtroopers who were yet to take their positions. The ones who were on their posts listened to him through the speakers. It was the Comissars' job - to watch for battle spirits on the battlefield and show the perfect example to the troops. They were chosen from the most charismatic men and women in the army.

"Soldiers! Behind this wall is an army. An army of uncivilized fools, who refuse to see the prosperity our homeland gives to them! I won't lie to you, they may be armed with primitive weapons, but the ghosts are powerful beings. Our beloved Emperor looks down upon us and he expects us to win this conflict. And we will not let him down! You know that he always comes first in battle, but he is not here, because even a man of his power cannot be everywhere. But we are his fist, the ones who show the people his divine light! It isn't the first victory we are going to achieve, nor is it the last. But it will be the victory your children will be eager to listen about, because it will be one of a kind. To arms, battle brothers and sisters! For the Empire! For the Emperor!"

His loud proclamation was accompanied by the loud cheering of the soldiers. From her place Valerie raised her eyebrow and looked at Komand.

"Does he really think that Danny is a god?"

The Yuth sighed. "And he isn't the only one, believe me. Many people share his point of view," she murmured.

The Stormtroopers went to their positions in the organized pace and rows. Marchal returned to the HQ, and Komand meanwhile looked at the enemy army again. Finally they got to the place where the Imperial soldiers could reach them.

"Open fire from all batteries!" She ordered loudly.

Immediately the artillery batteries were lifted upwards and the mere moments later red blasts were launched from their insides. Snipers opened fire as well at the following command. As the fire of blaster and laser bolts flew at the ghosts, they came up with a defense. They made ecto shields which made them impenetrable for sniper bolts. Artillery shots flew above the shields, or simply managed to destroy them. But after the imact they didn't fly forward, only staggered the advance. There was enough for the snipers to make several blasts. Their orders were to first take down non-skeletons. The ghosts increased the pace, Fright Knight understood that they would be shot down otherwise.

"They are splitting," Lord Horus noted as the batteries continued to rumble behind them.

"I can see that," Komand responded. "Our forces are stretched thin already."

"They won't be able to hold their shields for long if the artillery keeps firing," Valerie said. "And even then they would be too exhausted to fight."

Komand nodded. "Get the Clawcrafts in the air."

The Nssis-class was a common project between the Empire and the Chiss Ascendancy. Putting their technologies together, two countries, which by that moment became very close because of the growing trust and being trade partners, got a wonderful fighter, nicknamed Clawcraft in the Empire. Both countries had a patent and could produce them. Their fuselage was based on the ubiquitous "ball cockpit" of the Imperial starfighters, with an ion drive pod mounted on the rear, but stemming from the junction of cockpit and drive pod were two pairs of curving wings which thrust out like strike-foils, and then extended forward in a claw-like grip around the cockpit. At the tip of each wing was a L-s7.2 laser cannon. And in this case, they were painted in black and green.

They took off the ground and flew towards the enemy, mercilessly firing at them with everything they had. But soon they met a sudden resistance, and a rather unexpected one. A huge black scaled dragon appeared out of nowhere and started hurling fire at the ships. Almost every member of the squadron got away, thanks to the ships' maneuverability. Only one got burned down alive. Nevertheless, the dragon made the fighters quite busy.

"Lord Horus, Miss Gray, get to your posts," Komand ordered.

"Coming, coming."

The Sith jumped down from the wall, landing on the ground without any harm. Valerie hit her leg with another one and flew off using a hoverboard. Meanwhile the ghosts got close enough now for the usual Stormtroopers to fire from their standard ectorifles. It was a truly genius idea, they were firing bullets dipped in an extremely thin layer of ectoplasm. Thus they were keeping ectoplasm while saving the bullet's speed, since the ectoblasts were much slower. But that also meant they needed to aim for the ghosts' cores. Also, the skeletons could be taken down with usual blaster machine guns. And did it pour like a rain.

It was like a pompous lightshow: green ectoblasts were flying back and forward, accompanied by the red and blue lasers and blaster bolts. The enemy shields were now gone and there was nothing stopping the servants of the Emperor from destroying the ghosts. But the time came, the enemy got to the walls. They split into two groups, one of which was much smaller. A quarter of the ghosts flew up to the top of the walls, while the rest started going through it. Once on the other side, they were greeted by another wave of blaster bolts. And the Sith.

The red skinned beings with thunderous roars ran at the skeletons, with red lightsabers in their hands. Add to that constant lightings flying from their hands or an ability to snap the enemy body parts with a move of the hand and you get hundreds of bones thrown around. While the Sith were holding some of them back, the Stormtroopers kept firing from the trenches, using machine guns and blasters, sometimes using knifes to stab the skeletons who managed to get too close. Some had shooting positions from the towers of the industrial facility. The skeletons could only use bows and bullet rifles. Neither of those were really effective, plastoid protected the Stormtroopers from them, but when the more powerful ghosts fired ectoblasts, it all depended on the angles and levels of protection.

On the walls, however, the situation was different. There were only more powerful ghosts, since the skeletons couldn't fly. It was where Komand was holding her position, along with the Paladins, all of which possessed white lightsabers, which became the Order's symbol. They fought off the ghosts, which was goddamn hard, not only Phantom could move the core around the body. But they knew what to do - one Paladin immobilized the enemy using the Force, while another made a stab in the core held in one place. That was still too few for every front.

The Yuth grabbed the ghost through the Force, slammed him on the ground, before making a slash without letting the enemy to react. She then took a brief look around her.

"Soldier, take that machine gun and keep firing!" She ordered to the Stormtrooper who wasn't originally using it. There was nothing hard with it. Just load one gas capsule and you are ready to kill two hundred skeletons. The Stormtrooper nodded and ran to the weapon.

And the horde wasn't about to end, despite the amount of enemies already destroyed. No one knew how mach time passed. The Clawcrafts kept fighting the large beast, while trying to avoid being hit by its tail or large scaly wings. But they were keeping it busy. However, from their point above one of the pilots noticed movements far away, where the artillery first fired. His eyes widened in shock and he immediately contacted the superiors.

"Squadron leader, what's the situation?" Marshal asked from the HQ.

"The back rows of their army get on their feet!"

"So it began," the officer said grimly. "Get rid of that dragon already and destroy them!"

"We will be happy to, Marshal," the pilot abruptly swept aside. "But if we could, we would have done it by now! Its scales are harder than corvettes' hull!"

"No need to concentrate all your ships there, just leave some to deal with it."

"Will do, Marshal."

The Squadron leader transmitted the order and led his half of the Clawcrafts to the resurrecting army. Fright Knight was not the Ghost King and he wasn't as powerful. It took more time for the skeletons to get back into lines. And the fighters weren't about to let them.

"Get lost, you pathetic mortals!" The dragon roared, throwing a gust of fire.

"This thing can talk?!" Someone exclaimed through the squadron communication.

"Don't get distracted from your mission," The leader said. "Keep it busy, whatever it is."

"Understood, sir."

With the characteristic roaring sounds the Clawfighters flew at the ground troops. They could use bombers, but there weren't any.

Valerie was able to fly using her hoverboard, and with a big bazooka like weapon in her arms she caused damage from above. She was also able to move quickly from one side to another to fix the breaches of the defense line. The ghosts were everywhere, some were firing at her, but Danny had previously ordered to improve the board, adding a shield generator in it. But she couldn't be everywhere, and the Stormtroopers and the Sith weren't endless. Some managed to get to the guarded places.

"Sir, the ghosts are inside!" One of the soldiers reported to the Marshal, and the man's eyes widened.

Immediately they heard the blasts behind the doors. Marshal took a blaster pistol, looking at all the communication officers.

"Hold the line," he commanded. There was no running away.

Some soldiers ran inside the room, later joining their defense. Soon the ghosts went through the metal doors, and were greeted by the blaster fire. The skeletons kept going forward, going over the bones of their comrades. Unfortunately, they had machine pistols with unlimited ammo, and the officers didn't wear any armor. The pieces of furniture used as the cover couldn't hold everything for long. The Imperials were cornered, as their numbers were severely decreasing. The Marshal caught a bullet in his shoulder and screamed in pain, leaning against the wall. He fired and destroyed the one who left the wound on him. The officer looked around and saw that he was the last remaining, if you don't count the soldiers lying in a pained trance of agony.

He was about to be killed as well, but then the metal door slid open, and a multitude of shots flew at the skeletons, destroying them quickly one by one. It was revealed to be the Comissar, wielding two blaster pistols. After the last enemy was blown into pieces, the Yuth officer approached the Marshal, fixing the red and black cap with the Imperial rectagon on its front.

"You seem to be in trouble."

"Really?" The human asked sarcastically, before walking to the holographic table. "We must retreat to Terra. We will be crushed!"

"You can't do that. Your orders were to keep this fortress," Julius argued harshly.

"I can and we will retreat. They are going to kill us all!"

The Marshal was about to press a button on the communitor, but felt something cold pressing against the back of his head.

"Go on, press it," the Comissar said.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm doing my job. To oversee how the Emperor's orders are being put into completion. Now, remove your hand."

"Are you going to kill your superior for denying the suicidal order?"

"Exactly."

"I'm going to die either way, so just do it."

The second the Marshal said that, a blaster bolt burned through his skull. The corpse fell under the Comissar's black leather boots. Then the communicator beeped. As if nothing happened, the officer activated it.

"Where is the Marshal, Comissar?" Komand asked from another end.

"He is dead. The ghosts broke into the HQ and killed the entire operating team."

The woman sighed and shook her head. "You take the temporary command, Comissar. There is nobody to help you out there, but you must coordinate our soldiers."

"Understood, ma'am."

Komand turned off the transmission and sent a lighting into the nearest ghost. She understood that they were effectively losing the ground. Of course, the losses of the enemy were considerable, they lost most of their soldiers as well, but from her spot on the wall she could see the resurrected reinforcements. Where did Fright go? There wasn't a sign of him. If he doesn't show up soon, they wouldn't stand another wave.

Suddenly she heard a loud horn sound. She looked from the wall and saw a spot far on the distance. Komand raised her hand and the thermobinocular flew into her hands. She looked in it and grinned. Looks like Danny got them as much help as possible. An army of yetis was riding the hover bikes, accompanied by the medieval knights in dark blue armor on the same vehicles. As Komand continued fighting off the newest enemy reinforcement, protecting the Stormtroopers who were shooting from their high ground, the reinforcements of their own attacked the enemy from behind, driving over the skeletons. The passengers jumped off the vehicles and joined fighting. If Komand knew Terran history, she would have recognized that some of the knights were actually Greek hoplites, with round shields and long spears.

Komand was about to continue fighting, but then the next ghost was frozen on its place. She looked behind and smirked.

"Hey, Frostbite," She greeted.

The FarFrozen gave a wolfish grin. "The Great One said you needed help. We are in your command."

"As are we," the ghost who looked like a spartan warrior added. "King Leonidas at your service. We were sent by the Queen Pandora."

"And the knights?" Komand asked.

"Queen Dorathea is quite occupied," Frostbite pointed his ice engulfed hand at where the black dragon was.

And now it was fighting another dragon, with light blue scales and yellow horns. Komand blinked.

"Uhm, and where is she?"

"Her amulet allows to turn into this form. Her brother has the same one," Leonidas added.

"So, if it is destroyed, he won't be a bother?"

After receiving a nod, Komand called the pilots. She ordered them to fire at the seemingly useless trinket. Then she turned to the allied ghosts, asking them to assist the troops down the wall. But suddenly they hear a loud horse whine. Fright Knight was riding through the enemy lines on his steed. If he hadn't interfered, the offense would have been staggered. His wicked looking green sword slashed through the white armors, but the Stormtroopers weren't falling dead, instead they just vanished. Komand looked at Frostbite.

"What is he doing?"

"This is a Soul Shredder in his arms. One cut and you will be sent to the world of your worst nightmares."

"I see. Go through with the order, I'll fight him."

Komand jumped from the wall, before getting closer to the ghost. And once Fright readied his horse for another round, she started to speak loudly.

"Fright Knight!" Komand shouted, getting the enemy leader's attention. "How about you fight your equal?" She asked, raising her lightsaber.

"That wouldn't be you," Fright sneered in a deep voice. "I came here to fight your pitiful Emperor, or is he too afraid to face me?"

"Maybe he didn't want to bother with such a pathetic creature like you. I am the Emperor's Hand, the second person of the Empire. And I challenge you for a duel."

Fright Knight contemplated the decision for a few second. Finally, he jumped off his horse.

"The conditions are simple. If you win, my army won't be of any bother, if it is me who wins, you surrender."

"Fine by me," Komand said, taking a battle stance.

Fright let out a chilling laugh and ran at her, his sword blazing with a green color. When their weapons clashed, Komand understood that it was going to be the hardest battle she had had so far.

The knight used his absolutely superior strength and spinned the weapon away. Komand jumped to the side, rolling under the swing. She quickly attempted to make a stab, but Fright blocked the hit lazily. His reaction was superior. He then attempted to repeat the movement, trying to push her weapon away. Komand used the Force to halt his advance, but managed only stagger him a few steps backwards. Then the knight's hand glowed with a violet color as he fired. It was too big to be blocked, so Komand had to jump away again, only to block an immediate hit from her opponent. White sparks flew around, giving several tiny burns.

"Foolish girl, I had been fighting for millenias before you were born!" The Knight said.

"Well, I was trained by the one who locked you in a pumpkin," Komand smirked.

Fright roared and started swinging his weapon around, knowing that only one scratch was enough. Komand was able to block every upcoming hit, using the defensive form of the lightsaber combat. But damn, his strikes were impossible to hold back, only deflect to the side. Apparently, Danny was seriously holding back while training her. But once she managed to slip through the defense, her lightsaber just bounced off the pitch black armor. Fright barked a laugh and swung his sword again. Komand started blocking another wave of strikes.

Suddenly something unexpected happened. While the swords were close to each other, Fright punched her in the face after freeing his hand.

Komand screamed in pain and made a few steps back, automatically putting a hand on her face. Blood leaked from her beaten nose. There was also a bleeding cut coming from her left eye to the edge of her nose. It was a miracle the eye was undamaged. She didn't have time to think about it as Fright launched forward, swinging his sword again. Komand glared at tne assaultant and fired a lighting from her hands, letting out a roar. Now it was the knight's turn to yell in pain as the charge traveled through his metal encased body. He fell on one knee, but then started to stand up, even if the electricity wasn't stopping. He then summoned a shield which protected him from the attack.

The woman realized that it was pointless now, so she stopped shooting lighting, panting for air. Fright started approaching her again, as if nothing happened to him.

"You mortals are pathetic," He snapped. "You cannot hope to win against me."

"Why not? Who said you are immortal?"

Fright hummed. "You are obviously his student. Phantom's mouth can't shut even if he is on a verge of death."

'That's why I love him,' Komand thought.

She then took the stance again. "Let's finish this already."

"Gladly. I am getting bored of this."

Komand now knew that the only place she could strike at was his invisible face. But she couldn't get there, so she needed to provide a distraction. Komand lifted a large piece of rock using the Force and threw it at the knight. Since it originated from the Ghost Zone, Fright couldn't phase through it. He instead flew above it, but Komand anticipated the move, so she abruptly lifted it upwards. Fright received a hard hit, which made him fall back on the ground. Grunting, he tried to get on his feet. But Komand pushed him to the ground, before attempting to make a stab through his face.

But Fright managed to raise his sword, despite the Force holding him on one place, and block the strike. He then turned the blade so it would look like he was going to stab her. It broke Komand's concentration, which was exactly what Fright wanted. He raised another hand and blasted her. Since the knight didn't have much time, the blast wasn't as destructive as he needed. Komand screamed in pain as the blast hit her right hand and broke some of her bones. She wasn't able to hold the lightsaber in that arm, so Komand put it in another.

Fright finally rose on his feet as the dust fell off him. And again, he didn't show any sign of damage, except for a dent on his armor. He chuckled as he approached her.

"I smell fear, girl. Have you finally realized that you stand no chance?"

"No, I'm afraid to imagine how your mother looked if she gave a birth to such an uglet."

Komand suddenly sent another lighting and it worked just as well as the last time. But now she did something else. Using the Force, she managed to disarm her opponent. Fright then grabbed her wrist and punched Komand again multiple times. She fell on the ground and coughed. A few droplets of blood fell on the ground.

"I don't need a sword to defeat you, child."

"Then do it. Or can you only brag?" Komand asked in hoarse voice.

Fright narrowed his eyes, approached her, and was about to kick her in the face again. He could break her skull and kill her that way. But suddenly the Soul Shredder flew into Komand's hand. Using the last bit of her strength, she made a stab through the empty space between the armor plates of Fright's leg. He yelled in pain, before staggering back.

"Why are you still standing?" Komand panted.

"You brat, I have no fear. I AM FEAR!" Fright shouted, charging an ectoblast.

The Yuth's eyes became blurry, as the tears unvoluntary leaked out from her eyes from the pain and the realization. She could barely see what happened in front of her. She only heard a sudden gasp. When she opened her eyes slightly, she only saw a fallen corpse of her enemy. Suddenly Komand felt someone pick her up.

"Don't worry, My Love. I am here," she heard a gentle whisper.


	43. Chapter XLIII: Better safe than sorry

Komand's eyelids slowly started to rise. She flinched slightly from the pain her wounds caused, when the young woman tried to move. Komand hissed quietly. She felt a hand gently touching her chest, not letting her move too much. Komand opened her eyes and saw a familiar white haired monarch sitting on a chair nearby, who kept a small smile on his face. The light always surrounding him seemed to be much brighter than usual.

"You are very pretty when you sleep, you know?" He said.

The woman smiled softly, shifting her head on a pillow. "Where are we?" She asked.

"You were seriously damaged. I ended Fright, so the attackers lost the battle. I just carried you to the hospital, after healing what I could myself."

"Good to know," Komand mumbled with half closed eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"You sensed it, didn't you?" Danny chuckled, but his look clearly showed his true emotions. "I've trained you well...but not good enough, apparently."

"Oh, Danny," Komand raised her hand and touched his cheek. "You are blaming yourself again."

"Are you...not mad at me?"

"For what? For saving my stupid butt?"

"For putting you in danger. I should have known that everything would be this way, it was just so obvious. And yet I let this happen, I..."

"Danny," Komand said firmly, effectively stoping his panicking ramble. "You are not in fault here. I know you would have come sooner if you could. But you don't need to worry about something you aren't able to prevent."

"Doesn't mean that I can't feel bad about leaving you for certain death."

Komand was about to lightly slap her lover for his stupidity, when the medical droid quickly stomped into the room.

"Sir, there is a..."

"MOMMY!"

It happened too quickly. One second there was no one in the room, but then there was one seven years old hugging Komand. The woman winced slightly, because the girl touched her wounded places. Danny at seeing this removed Dani by phasing her off. The girl's look turned from happy to concerned in a split second.

"Are you okay, mommy?" She asked while her father put her on a lap.

Komand smiled, "Yes, I'm fine, sweetheart. Your father is just worried for nothing."

Danny pouted. "That's because I love you so much," he whined.

"What's this thingy under your eye?" Dani asked.

Komand raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Phantom took a datapad lying nearby. He activated the front camera and gave the device to his lover. Komand gasped slightly and put a hand on the place. There was a small scar going from under her eye to the nose. She looked up at Danny.

"So, does it make me look fat?" Komand asked dryly.

"No, you are still pretty, mommy," Dani answered instead.

Both adults laughed. "Yeah, what she said," Danny added, shaking the girl slightly. "I think it makes you even more cute."

The woman blushed slightly at the praise and smiled.

"Oh, come here, you flatterer," she pulled him closer and kissed Phantom lightly. But then she pulled away. "No more until you realize that you are not guilty for my little misfortune."

Danny chuckled, but then one of the droids went into the room again.

"Sir, there is a crowd of journalists outside."

"What?! How did they find where we are?!"

"The rumors, I guess," Komand added dryly. "Wait. Have you brought me to a public hospital?"

"I didn't have much time. I guess we will have to deal with them, or they are going to pester you."

Danny put his daughter on the chair and went out of the room. Outside two Death Troopers joined him, walking by their Emperor's side. Phantom had brought Komand to the Amity Park hospital, and was near her most of the time she was unconscious. It was actually surprising they didn't find out sooner. Soon Phantom exited the building and was greeted by a small crowd. They seemed afraid of the monarch's guards, so Danny just told them to stand on a bit longer distance.

"You surely can search," Danny said in a joking manner, fixing his white gloves. His bright smile showed that he was ready for everything. "Well, go ahead."

"Your Majesty, what's the reason of you being here?" Phantom heard over the cacophony of voices.

"Just checking on my close friend. I actually hoped that everything would go quietly."

"How often do you visit like that?"

"Quite a lot. But just to make checks without informing the governors. It is always more fruitful. This was an exception."

"Who is your friend?"

"I am afraid that's personal and I have the right to remain silent. Next?"

"There were multiple bodies carried from the portal. What happened in the Ghost Zone?"

"You know of Fright Knight, I take it? Well, he brought together an army of undead to come here. Try fighting the beings which resurrect after being shot down, it isn't easy. Our men and women fought bravely and will be rewarded accordingly. Those who died protecting our country, their deed won't be forgotten. I ask you not to pester the veterans about the details, give them some rest, please, it was a tough battle."

Sadly, Phantom knew it was pointless to ask. He'd have to warn the soldiers. Suddenly his communicator started to beep. Danny raised his finger. "Wait a moment please," he said, before choosing to listen to the message instead of looking at a hologram.

"Greetings, My Lord."

"Keeper, what is it? There are journalists out here."

"We have found an information you may find interesting."

"I can't leave this place. If it is something physical, bring it here. You know before me where I am."

"Understood, Your Majesty."

With that Danny ended the talk and turned back to the journalists.

"Sir, who were you speaking with?"

"The Head of Imperial Intelligence. Anyways, I really have to go now. If you have any more questions, ask my press secretary. Farewell."

Danny turned around, despite the reporters' protests, his pearly cape swirling around. The Death Troopers followed their leader through the corridors. Phantom realized that he needed to move his lover somewhere else. Hyperion had everything required for her healing. Of course it did, more than ten kilometers were obviously filled with something. Once he opened the room again, he saw Dani talking with Komand excitedly, showing a list of paper to her.

"Having fun?" Phantom asked.

"Oh, baby girl was just showing me what she has drawn," the woman responded with a smile. "Have you seen it?"

"Nope, Daddy hasn't," Dani answered.

"But I'd like to take a look."

The girl immediately ran to her father, showing him a picture. She surely had improved her skill, even if it was still on the level slightly higher than a seven years old's. It was an image of Phantom's flagship. Danny chuckled, looking at the girl and ruffling her stark hair, making her giggle and hug him.

"Why Hyperion, though?"

"'Cause your ship is awesome!"

Phantom chuckled again. "It sure is."

Then Danny realized that she needed a temporary replacement in the Separatist Senate. He would think about this later. Family was always important for him. People could always say that the great leaders fully dedicate themselves to the state, but it wasn't exactly true. The happiness the family gives is unchallenged, and it inspires the rulers for great and kind deeds. Phantom spent an hour playing with his daughter, even taking a role as her horse, much to his lover's laughter. But Dani loved every second of it. However, soon the joy was over when someone knocked on the door. Sighing, Danny put his daughter on the chair.

"Come in."

The door was opened and a man went inside. He was a Twi-lek, who used to live on the planet belonging to what used to be the Imperial Enclaves before the war. He had blue skin and eyes. The man hit his lightly armored chest with his fist and bowed.

"Good day, Your Majesty. Chin Mrak at your service."

"I don't recall seeing you around," Danny immediately gained a noble posture. "A newbie?"

"I was going through the field trainings. Scouting the ghosts' movements."

"Very well. Take a seat, please."

"Uhm," The agent looked at Komand. "Is it the right place to..."

"Oh, go ahead. She won't be of any problem. Right?"

"Noope."

"See?"

"Very well, My Lord."

There was an issue with the defeated ghosts. Phantom knew who was responsible, and they weren't going to be let go easily. Needless to say that his presence gave a second breath to his soldiers, who were ready to counterattack, without even having a proper rest. In a few hours they were already bombarding the Observants' Hall. Those who didn't have time to flee, were executed without any judge or prosecution. They, along with many other ghosts, had to learn the harsh lesson of defiance. Then Phantom gathered all his ghostly allies and came up with an offer. The case clearly showed the vulnerability of the Imperial governace in another world. And instead of being vassals, Danny suggested that they should join the Empire completely. They accepted. But it was before the current moment. The report conserned some of the details, and Danny wondered what was there so important.

"We have interrogated the ghosts who were nearby, they said that almost no one left or entered the Hall. Some of them managed to flee, we are searching for them. What shall we do with them?"

"Interrogation. And then do what you must," Danny said carefully, avoiding the word 'killing'. Dani was still sitting nearby. "If someone hides them, first warn those ghosts about helping our enemies and the price they would have to pay."

"Yes, sir. I'll pass your order," The Twi-lek bowed.

"Anything else?"

The agent nodded. "You have also ordered to scavenge the artifacts which could be there. The bigger ones were moved to the transport ship and will be delivered where you wish. One in particular...we wouldn't have payed attention, but one of our allies adviced to bring it to you immediately."

With a loud metallic thud, an object was put on the table. It was the thermos the Observants had picked. With a shaking hand, he picked the cylinder and gulped.

"How did you find it?"

"The thing was on the ground in one of the rooms."

"Was it...opened when you found it?"

"Yes, sire."

"You may leave."

It wasn't an offer. The agent got up, bowed and left. Phantom called the droid and asked to look after Dani. Komand didn't manage to even blink how quickly all of this happened.

"Danny, what's going on?"

"It wasn't supposed to happen, they weren't supposed to touch it..."

"Danny..."

"How did they manage to get it, Clockwork was supposed to..."

"DANNY!"

This finally got Phantom's attention. He turned to his lover and gave a ragged sigh, hugging himself. Komand was starting to really worry for him. What could it possibly be? Danny never seemed to fear, he was cocky, disgusted, angry, and for him to actually being so fearing... Komand never saw an expression of such immense horror on Danny's face.

"Sorry, I...spaced out for a moment."

"So I have noticed. What's wrong?" Komand asked in worry.

Phantom sighed and sat on a chair near her. After a minute of silence he finally found the proper words.

"Tell me, what do you think of this thing?"

Komand looked at the item now lying on the shelf. "It looks like a thermos."

"Because it is. But keeping the soup warm isn't its only purpose. It was an improvised prison for ghosts, courtesy of Fentons. And it just happened to hold the only person I ever feared," Phantom whispered grimly.

"Who?"

"Myself."

Danny drummed on the top of the thermos. Komand only looked at him in confusion.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Look, I know it sounds crazy, but...I have traveled in time before. It happened seven years ago, but I still remember everything. Damn, I don't even know how to explain this. Back then I was supposed to pass the test which was supposed to 'decide my future'. It was wrong, of course, I'm an Emperor now. Still, I was worried as hell, and, by a turn of events, I got the answers to that test. It was when the paths in the timeline split in two directions. It depended on whether I choose to return the answers or keep them. Me from the other line chose the second. I returned the answers once I have learnt my lesson and met HIM."

"But how is this connected?"

"My teacher would have learnt about it. He would have decided to confront my family, and my friends would have tried to stop them. But the teacher would have chosen a place, which was an unintentional bomb. It would have detonated. And I would have lost everything. The only difference from the situation I was in when I left Terra, is that I now hated my parents, hatred is different from grief. Also, I didn't have my uncle. In that, other case, he was genuine for a change, he wanted to help me. I don't know how he came to that conclusion. He would have ripped my human and ghost halves apart. But...my human part wasn't only a breathing piece of flesh, it was also a complex of humane feelings. And being ripped away so ruthlessly and uncaringly, my ghost half would have killed the human one in the end."

Danny got on his feet, looking out of the window longingly.

"Now, honey, imagine a being with immense power not the tiniest bit weaker than me, because he IS me. A being, which feels no fear, no affection, no mercy and remorse. He doesn't need any gain, he kills only to eradicate all living beings around, for the sickening pleasure of it. And THIS being is someone who used to be kept inside the thing which stands here. He was limited to Terra, now the entire Empire is his safari field."

Komand just stared at the stark haired man. She just couldn't believe that the ghost in front of her could become so horrible by just one snap of the fingers. Her imagination refused to think up the image. To think that her sweet lovely Danny could go on a murderous spree. Phantom was eaten from inside by her silence. He sat on the bed near her and Komand was surprised when Danny hugged her closely to him.

"Please, promise me that you won't try to confront him."

"What?" She asked, still catching up to the events. Danny pulled back and looked into her eyes.

"Komy, his very existence depends on me. He NEEDS me to suffer, he needs me to become like him in order to exist. And the only way for him to do that is to kill you or Dani. I don't want to lose everything again," he whispered hoarsely, stroking his love's cheek.

Komand was at loss of words, but she knew that Danny needed reassurance more than ever.

"It's not like I actually can," she smiled weakly, trying to brighten the mood. "I promise."

Danny smiled. "Thank you. I'll find him as soon as I can."

His later actions were drastical, but Phantom had no choice. The Clone War was one thing, but his ultimate enemy threatened everything and everyone. Danny asked to call an immediate meeting of the Imperial, and later the Separatist Councils. To his subjects he commanded to have the eyes peeled, without alarming the populace. However, a big amount of the Chiss populace complicated things, only hair could give him out, but that demon could change his appearance.

But if the Imperials complied without saying a word, the Separatists needed to be convinced in the upcoming danger. But Danny knew most of them wouldn't believe him. He had no proofs, and most of the members would disperse his idea. He wasn't even going to try. But...there was also the Republic.

In one of the rooms within the large building of the Republic Senate was the Supreme Chancellor's office. It was a big circular room, with a big glass window taking a considerable part of the walls. The rugs were red, as well as the wallpapers. Several aurodium statues stood around and in the center was the black table. Near it was sitting an aged man, with short grayed hair going around the big bald spot on his head. Chancellor Palpatine was dressed in dark red and black robes.

"Senator Amidala, you are putting too many hopes on our enemies," he said in a stern, yet very gentle elderly voice.

The twenty five years old narrowed her brown eyes. Amidala was wearing light blue and black cloak. "Your Excellency, this war has been going for one year by now and the losses on both sides are already nearing the conflict with the Sith Empire. We must start negotiations."

"Support Senator Amidala, I do," Yoda, who was sitting nearby, added. "As Jedi, our duty it is to maintain peace."

"Yes, probably," Palpatine responded. "But what makes you so confident that the Separatists think the same way?" He asked, drumming his boney fingers.

"Well, you should probably ask one."

They all looked towards the entrance, and saw the white haired general/dictator standing at the doorway, with two blue armored Senate guards lying on the ground. He gave an innocent smile, even though Yoda sensed something heavy inside of the visitor. Phantom didn't look like he was going to attack, and Yoda wasn't the one to jump into fighting.

"I hope you came here to surrender, general," Palpatine said with narrowed eyes.

"Nah, not as long as I can get out of here."

"And how did you get in?" Padme asked.

"Ah, Senator Amidala, I heard a lot about you," Danny approached them. "Gunray just wouldn't shut up in his threats to you."

The woman couldn't resist a small snort. Phantom calmly sat on the chair as if he was in his office at Babylon. Palpatine decided to wait with pressing a button beneath his table. Yoda was just curious.

"Answering your question, I have my ways of getting in and out every place I want, starting from the Sith Lord's tomb and ending with this guy's closet," Danny pointed at the Chancellor.

Then his look became more serious. "But in all honesty, I came here with a request. And it doesn't concern the war."

"Speak then," Palpatine said calmly.

"Look, I may kill your clones, but I don't want the civilians' deaths. Coruscant has recently suffered from that Zillo beast. You may have defended Malastare and beated one of my subordinates, but costly. Several districts were completely destroyed. How was your rating after that, Chancellor?"

"I'm given emergency powers anyways. After the war ends, I will step down, ratings don't concern me."

"But not the lives, I hope?" Padme asked.

"Of course, Senator."

"She has just said my point," Danny added, before sighing. "Look. I'm not siding with you, neither I am betraying the Confederacy. I just want to save lives, and there is a horrid beast on the loose."

The confusion was evident on the others' faces.

"He may have a humanoid appearance, but he can give the most wicked Sith Lords a run for their money. He has the same name as me, but I prefer to call him Dan, for short. Don't you dare to call me this way. He is powerful, more than any Jedi or Sith. We must combine our efforts in order to defeat him before his goal of ending every living being will be completed."

"How powerful can he be if you fear him so much?" Padme asked.

"Let me tell you, he cracked open the energy shield from the outside, then alone slaughtered ten thousand armed soldiers, blew up thirty fighters and threw around hundreds of tanks. And all of this in less than a day without breaking into sweat or using any weapons. He also turned the prosperous city into broken wasteland in this amount of time. I managed to defeat him only because I took him by surprise. He is weakened now, we must find him now."

Everyone was silent. But Palpatine was the first to speak.

"And why shall we trust our enemy?" He asked.

"And why shall I trust you? Yet, I'm the one risking my neck here. If you hear or see anything concerning him, please, contact me. But DO NOT approach him alone. In return, I will assist the negotiations. I know the right people. Do we have a deal?"

"We will think about it," Amidala said with a small smile. She was glad her idea was getting a development.

Phantom nodded, before walking out of the room.

"That was...unusual," the Chancellor noted when the door slid behind Danny's back.


	44. Chapter XLIV: Sorting things out

Phantom was going through with the promise given to the Chancellor and the Senator. It was in his own interests as well, the temporary ceasefire would give him much needed time. Komand had partially recovered from the wounds, but it was inadvisable for her to return to the duties at the moment. But it was for the best, Phantom concluded. He was one of the most respected generals, and, after Dooku, Danny certainly was the most respected member of the Council.

But just to be sure, he firstly approached his most trusted ally in the Senate. Mina Bonteri was quite influential there, and could persuade more politicians to join this coalition of his. She was more than eager to assist him, especially after her husband died on Aargonar, during the clones' attack. Not only droids served in the CIS army, sadly. Danny and Komand of course shared their condolences, she really appreciated that. Mina organized the hearing, because the senators should have approved this. To discuss the details, Phantom visited Bonteri's mansion.

"So, we need the Old Man's approval?" Danny asked as they walked through the garden.

"Count Dooku can't go against the Senate. He will approve of this if the voting goes in our favor," Mina responded. "For the Council member you know surprisingly little of our constitution, not to sound offensive..."

"Nah, I would have remembered it if I needed it more than now. Komand should know more."

"I haven't seen her around. Has something happened?" The senator asked in concern.

"She wanted a fight, so I foolishly sent her to Terra to subdue the locals. She was wounded, but we won. Komy is alright now, but the doctors advised her to remain in the bed for some time."

"Oh, that's terrible. Is this why you want a ceasefire?"

"I can be replaced on the battlefield, there is no need to stop the war just because of that," Danny then stopped and sighed. "Look, what I say here must not leave this place, alright?"

"What is it?"

"I made an agreement. With Chancellor Palpatine. I just...need something."

Mina looked at him in shock. "How did you..."

"Come in contact with him? Just barged into his office and left. I need to find one dangerous person. They help me find him, and I will assist Amidala's idea of ceasefire. It was a spontaneous idea I had nothing against."

The mid aged woman was surprised at his reasoning, but still chuckled. "Ironic. She was just about to visit me. But that of course should remain between us."

"Oh, really? Mind if I remain here until then?"

"Certainly not, General. Since you have already agreed."

Suddenly Danny heard a slight rustle. He calmly put hands behind his back and under the white cape. "I didn't know we had an extra auditory."

"What?"

"You can come out now."

The bushes rustled again, before a teenage boy climbed out from his cover. He was dressed in the dark blue slim coat, had brown hair and blue eyes. Danny smirked at seeing the obvious family resemblance.

"And this is your son, I take it?" He asked, giving a warm smile to the spy. "Nice to meet you, Lux," Danny outstretched his hand, which the teen shook.

"It's an honor to meet you, sir," he said.

"Please, don't call me sir. It makes me feel old."

Mina smiled at the pleasant exchange, before she received a call. Her eyes widened when she listened to the message. Mina turned off the communicator and looked at her fellow politician.

"I've got a call. Padme's ship has entered the orbit."

"How did she manage to get here?" Danny raised an eyebrow. "Officials are not allowed to travel through the border."

"I'm not sure, it must be a civilian transport. Are you going to come with me?"

"No, not many know I'm staying on Raxus and I'd call an unrequired attention. I'd better wait here."

Mina nodded, before leaving Phantom and her son alone. Danny crossed his hands and stomped the grass beneath his feet slightly, humming a song under his nose. He noticed that Lux seemed uncomfortable in the awkward silence.

"So, how does it feel to be the senator's kid?" Danny asked an unexpected question.

"Not so bad, I guess," the teen shrugged. "And how does it feel to be the dictator?"

"Well, I can do whatever I want in my domain. Even organize a parachute jumping in Pinochet style for the people I don't like. Which means they don't have parachutes."

Lux didn't get what Danny was saying, but guessed it wasn't that good. Phantom laughed slightly.

"For a despot this is a haven. For the ruler who tries to build something - dictatorship is hell. Too much work. And I also have other responsibilities, I'm splitting apart to do everything."

For some reason he snorted. They talked a bit after this, for about an hour. Danny told the curious teen about how he had fought on Belsavis - a geothermal planet used as the prison world. It wasn't the Republic's idea to make it so, Rakata were the first to make use of the planet's unusual climate, an ice world with jungles based in the spots where the planetary core had openings. The Republic had decided to use the infrastructure as the natural defense, and it was a tough nut to break. The Confederacy's droids could fight only in the open, but when it comes to guerrilla warfare...it was nearly impossible to win. That's what made the victory even more prized.

Soon they were approached by the droid servant. He informed them about the newest arrivals. Lux ran forward, while Danny calmly went forward. After passing through the corridors, Phantom was near the front entrance. There he saw Mina, along with Senator Amidala, who was wearing casual brown robes. Danny leaned against the wall near the door. He was unnoticed at first, because two women were looking anywhere but the doorway.

"Lux, come down here and help with the luggage," Mina called to her son, who was sitting on one of the pedestrials.

The teen jumped down and Danny decided to approach them. He went down the stairs and beamed.

"Miss Amidala, it is good to see you again," Danny said, clasping his hands.

He surely surprised her. Padme looked at Mina.

"Why haven't you told me he will be here?" She asked.

"My dear, he told me you had met before."

"Yes, but..."

"But what, senator?" Danny raised his eyebrow. "I'm just fulfilling my end of the bargain."

It seemed that the Chancellor's assumption was wrong.

"Let's come inside, we shouldn't do this at the entrance," Mina urged them to come inside.

Danny was about to follow, but then abruptly stopped at seeing another person behind the senator. Ahsoka stared at him, too. Well, they were in a rather peculiar situation. And the teen girl could see in his eyes that Danny wasn't pleased with this development. Nevertheless, he winked, signaling to play along. Ahsoka understood the gesture.

"So that's how you have got here, senator," Phantom commented. "The Jedi ARE allowed to travel."

Padme flinched. She was unsure about what was going to happen. Danny leaned forward.

"I hope you do realize I'm not happy about this," he whispered. "I have told you not to stick your neck where unneded."

Despite scolding his foster daughter, Phantom didn't sound angry at all.

"Daniel, please, leave the girl alone," Mina called.

"Very well, I'm just curious that the Jedi is doing here. And Skywalker's padawan, no less. Shall I carry the luggage?"

"I can manage," Ahsoka responded, acting suspicious as well. She could swear she had seen a smirk on Phantom's face.

Danny raised his hands in surrender as they all went inside. They went into the living room. While Mina tasked the servant droid to bring something to drink, Phantom looked at Amidala.

"I must say, I haven't expected you to be all the way here."

"You have barged into Chancellor's office, general. And I can't go on your planet?"

"This isn't my planet, I have just purchased a nice villa out there. It's good to be rich."

"War always profits not so saint people."

"I'm not talking about the war, I have a wealth of the entire state in my disposal. And I'm not talking about the Confederacy. You were the same before you have abdicated from Nabooan throne."

"I used to be a Queen. And who were you?"

Danny smirked, while Ahsoka was curious about how Phantom would respond.

"Well, I was born on a distant world in a small town..."

Everyone looked at him with the deadpan expressions.

"Please, friends, let's not argue with each other, we have a common cause," Mina smiled as the droid brought the wine glasses.

They didn't say anything against it. Padme looked out of the window, where Lux was.

"He has grown so much since I last saw him," she commented.

"Even war is not able to stop the time," the older woman responded with a note of sadness. "I'm wondering how it will affect his life."

Danny noticed that Ahsoka seemed bored. "You can go out if you want, just try not to get any extra attention, kiddo."

The girl nodded and walked out of the room. The adults then looked at each other again.

"Huh, you have just let her go like this?" Padme asked.

"Hey, I don't have anything against her. There aren't any documents to steal, after all."

Ahsoka went out into the garden. She was still surprised that Danny was there, but she was happy to see him. It was nice to return to the Order, but she still missed her family, especially her little sister. Too sad that Dani wasn't with Phantom at the moment. Ahsoka was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a voice.

"Are you a Jedi?"

She turned around and saw Lux sitting on the stairs. The boy got on his feet and approached her. Ahsoka crossed her hands.

"Lightsabers are a giveaway, aren't they?" She said sarcastically with a small smirk. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was always told the Jedi are good."

"And what's now?" The padawan raised an eyebrow as they walked forward.

"Now...I don't know, a lot of my friends blame them for the war."

"I am the first Jedi you've met, am I not?" Ahsoka stepped in front of him. "I don't look that bad, am I?"

Lux slowly sized her up and down. Maybe longer than needed.

"No, not bad at all," Lux responded.

Ahsoka rolled her blue eyes. "I guess the boys are the same everywhere," she said and went forward.

"Hey, wait. How many separatists have you met? And droids don't count."

"Well...besides military officers, like Grievous and Ventress...no I haven't."

"Well, look at me. Do I look bad?"

The padawan chuckled.

"Anyways," Phantom continued. "I have pleasant news for you, senator. Lady Bonteri has created a coalition in the Senate. With my authority we will be able to persuade more."

"And Count Dooku..."

"I have asked the same question," Danny interrupted.

"Dooku is the leader of the Confederacy, not the entire universe, Padme," Mina answered.

"Ah, yes, I forgot. You actually admire the man."

"That's politics, Miss Amidala. We may agree on something, can disagree. But we wage the same war," Danny responded.

"Yes, I guess you are right. The Senate plans to vote on the increasing of clone production. But that's ridiculous, the Republic is almost bankrupt, another credit from the Banking Clan will only make the situation worse."

"Huh," Danny and Mina looked at each other.

"What?"

"Our Senate is about to increase the droid build up as well. I finance my army, not the CIS, but the credit isn't good for this country either."

"Which makes our situation even more dire," Mina added.

"I've managed to convince the Chancellor to move the vote a few days forward. It should happen two days later at seven pm. Coruscantian time."

"That will be..."

"Eleven in the morning tomorrow by Raxus time," Danny finished counting.

"It will be one pm."

Phantom's shoulders sank. "I have a feeling that my uncle is laughing his ass from up there," he deadpanned. "Funny how close the hearing are to each other."

"Huh, you are right. What a coincidence," Mina muttered.

"There are no coincidences in this world, as Master Oogway said," Danny said, putting a hand to his chin, letting the glass flow nearby. Padme was impressed at this, she had never seen any Jedi do this without using their hands. "Maybe I'm worried for nothing, but we live in the weird times."

A few minutes later Phantom was in the garden again. Mina and Padme wanted to talk about their business, they were old friends, after all. Danny suddenly saw his daughter. With Lux. Alone. He freaked out at first, but then calmed himself down. What could possibly happen between two teenagers who had just met? Certainly not what he had thought it would be. Well, judging from Ahsoka's laughter, she was having fun. That was enough for him. At this thought Danny's look suddenly fell.

It was a matter of time until his enemy would figure out that Phantom was far from being lonely. He would attempt to destroy everything he cared about. That's why his duplicate was always with his family, much to his lover's annoyance and, at the same time, inner appreciation. Danny was about to walk away, when he was noticed.

"Sir, what are you doing here?"

Phantom turned around and chuckled. "I recall asking not to call me that," he joked. "I was just passing by. If you are done, I'd like to talk with this padawan, don't you mind?"

"Not at all, si...general."

Lux turned to Ahsoka. "It was nice talking to you," he said, before walking off.

The girl waved to him, before looking at Danny. "You just had to break in like that," she complained once Lux was away.

"Oh, did I break a lovey dovey moment?" Phantom laughed at her expression, before giving her a one handed hug. "That's my job as your parent, kiddo. To embarrass you."

Ahsoka chuckled. "I missed you, Dad."

Danny smiled as the girl hugged him back. "How are you doing?" He asked.

"Well, I'm bored. I've been staying in the temple for two weeks. And when I want to do something they say, 'Meditate, you must'."

Phantom shrugged. "You should take an advantage from everything. But yes, they are boring. These old men are crumbling into sand already."

Ahsoka grinned. "What about Dani and Komand?" She asked.

"They are alright. I'm not sure if it is the right place to talk about the recent events, however. We will find a proper time."

On the next day the hearing was being held in time. The Separatist Senate reminded Danny about British Parliament building. Even on the outside it seemed somewhat gothic. Green walls, rows of seats, positioned in rectangular shape. Phantom was invisible at the moment, just watching how Mina was about to speak. Padme and Ahsoka were standing in the corner of a huge room, with hoods on their heads. The girl looked at the place where Danny was, making the man smirk.

"How many lives should be ended until we see the futility?" Mina called. "I'm confident that there is a room in the Galaxy for the Republic and the Confederacy to coexist. I propose that we begin negotiations with Chancellor Palpatine."

It caused an uproar from the senators, just as expected. The politics make people deaf.

"We will never negotiate with these moneybags!"

"We are democracy, chairman, and unlike the Republic, the corporations don't rule us!"

Danny snorted. Poor senators, they didn't know half of it. The Confederate propaganda portrayed Gunray, Hill and other corporate members as noble renegades from the very corporations they owned. But Phantom didn't have his own intelligence for nothing. His agents were in both Senates, the key industrial worlds and financial centers, including the corporations' hubs. Some of the agents didn't know they worked on the Empire, not the Confederacy.

"To order, to order, please," Dooku's hologram called, and it considerably seized the size of the chatter.

"I couldn't agree more, Count."

Everyone's heads snapped in the direction of the voice. Everyone was staring in shock at the famed general, who was now in the center of the room, wearing his black and white military uniform.

"General, what a surprise," Dooku called. "What brings you here?"

"Count Dooku, respected senators, I came in this building to support Lady Bonteri."

It caused the reaction Danny expected, and the one he needed. Whispers traveled around the hall, and Phantom decided to press forward.

"Dear senators, I have a question. How many of your relatives died in the last year?" He asked calmly. "How many of you have seen the war firsthand? Yes, battle droids are doing all the job, that's why it is hard for many to see the big picture. Artillery shells have a wide explosion radius. Not many here can say that they have lost someone, but thousands of families across this burning Galaxy can."

"Even more reasons to keep fighting. We must avenge our fallen!"

"An eye for an eye will in the end make everyone blind," Danny put hands behind his back. "It was said by Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest pacifist in my planet's history. And this same man liberated his huge country without making a single shot. Think about that this way, these people died so we would be able to negotiate peace on even terms."

"Says the one who sends them to deaths!"

Danny looked at the woman who said this. His piercing green eyes stared at her.

"If it was my will, I wouldn't have even accepted the organics into the army. Our strength lies in numbers, I won many battles, but the military doctrine is beyond my control. Ask Gunray why we make so cheap and insufficient droids, ask Techno Union and the others why our ships are junk. My point is that we are going to take even more loans. Think of those who get profit from this war, aren't these the same people who we are fighting against? Kaminoans make money by making clones, Banking Clan gets profit from monstrous percents they put on the credits. Are we going to play onto their hands?"

Padme stared at him from her point above. For someone who himself earned enormous money and power from the war, he was surprisingly noble. When he first entered the Chancellor's office, she didn't expect Phantom to go so far.

"I am not trying to say that we should give up, I don't promise that the Republic agrees. But if we don't give the olive branch, it will be ripped away, along with our hands."

"I think we shouldn't wait any longer," Dooku called. "Let's begin the vote. All in favor, say Hai!"

The according loud shout was heard across the hall.

"All in negative, say Nei!"

And this shouting was considerably more quiet. Danny grinned.

"Then it is decided, we will send our offer to the Republican Senate."

Later this evening two senators and one general were congratulating each other on success. Their glasses rang as they had smiles on their faces.

"That was quite a speech, general," Amidala said as she made a sip.

"Thank you, I had a lot of experience," Danny smirked as alderaanian wine poured down his throat to dissipate into nothing in his core. "But, honestly, Mina did all the job. It hardly was the biggest speech of mine. The biggest one was after my...after I gained ruling power. It lasted for twenty minutes."

"Daniel, it was really nothing," Mina smiled at the youngest member of their group. "I somewhat have a feeling that what we did will be always remembered."

"If it works," Danny noted. "Now it's up to you, Miss Amidala. To peace, then," he raised the glass.

"To peace!"

Meanwhile, several parsecs away, on Serena, Count Dooku was returning to his palace. To say that he wasn't happy about the development was to say nothing, but Grievous had everything handled. But Phantom's intervention was unexpected. It just seemed ridiculous. When he entered the main hall, he immediately noticed that the droids guarding the doors were torn to shreds. The old man narrowed his eyes, his right hand slowly going to the belt where his lightsaber was.

"I was wondering when you'd show up," he heard an oddly familiar deep voice.

It was coming from behind the chair with a tall back.

"Daniel?"

Dooku received a slight chuckle. "Maybe. Maybe not. So much has changed since I last roamed this world."

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Simple...Dooku, was it? I just came here to chat."

"I'm currently talking to a chair," The Count growled.

The seat turned around and the old man blinked. The person was a human with an extremely pale skin, who looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He had slick raven black hair, tied in a low ponytail, with a short goatee of the same color. His eyes had a chilling blue color. The man was wearing strange black and white outfit, and he seemed quite muscular.

"I don't look like a chair, do I?" He asked, before getting up. "Your toys weren't that entertaining."

"Who are you?"

"Someone who can solve your problem. I may be a new one around here, but I know quite a lot. Daniel is a bother to you, isn't he? I know the kid, and I know that he will eventually take your place. That won't do for you, right?"

"I don't know what you are talking about. Now leave, or I will call more guards."

"Oooh, please no, I'm so scared!" The visitor moaned dramatically. "Don't try to fool me, old man. I know perfectly well that you won't be able to cut a single finger from his head."

"Why?"

"Oh, so you ARE interested. Believe me, you haven't seen the tiniest bit of the power he wields, and I am the only one who can end his pitiful existence. I need your assistance, though. I think you should ask your boss first, the one you have called a few hours ago."

Dooku's eyes widened as the visitor took out a small card.

"I'm also sure you wouldn't like this little fact to get out," the man smirked and Dooku could swear that his teeth were sharper than needed.

"It is not for me to decide. But...I'll call my Master," the old man approached his table where the communicator was.

The visitor grinned as his eyes glowed with blood red color.


	45. Chapter XLV: Interest

"What is the meaning of this?" Phantom asked, crossing his hands.

"We are not sure, sir," the patrolling droid responded.

"The explosion of such scale couldn't be caused by accident," the man responsible for solving the crime said.

They weren't alone, however, and the raging crowd was thirsty for blood. Danny couldn't blame them, honestly. It doesn't happen daily when the entire city block in the heart of the Confederacy gets blown up sky high. Hundreds of dead, many more were wounded. The detective's words only increased the shouting. And the most common of all were the yelling adressed to the Republic. Of course, who else could cause a massacre of such size? For Danny, however, the situation wasn't that obvious. It was a great blow to his reputation if it was the Republic, and the people believed it.

"Please, calm down, everyone!" Phantom called, raising his hand.

"My sister died in there! And you want to negotiate with that monsters?!" Someone called.

Danny realized that it was pointless to deny the Republic's involvement. They wouldn't have believed him, anyway. Besides, Chancellor didn't seem to be fulfilling his end of the bargain, and the negotiations were stopped dead. Phantom narrowed his neon eyes.

"The Republic has slapped away our peace offer by committing such an atrocity. It was answer enough. Our dignity and consciousness are clear before ourselves and our children. I will personally make sure that Coruscant feels the same way as we do know."

It caused the crowd to shout louder, but this time in agreement. Phantom didn't believe his own words, but it was said to calm down the populace. That's how he explained this to Mina. They both didn't believe that it was the Republic. The point is, just an hour before the hearing in the Republican Senate, a massive explosion obliterated about ten square kilometers. It was unknown how such a bomb was sneaked into the capital. Judging from the colorful power wave, it must have been rhydonium, one of the most volatile liquids in the Galaxy.

But it was one thing talking to the crowd, and another was talking to the Council. Especially the one which was pissed off.

"You were supposed to tell us beforehand, Phantom!" Hill spat, pointing his eight inches long finger at him.

"To tell about what? This is not your decision to make. Neither I decided anything, I merely supported one side," Danny remained calm.

"It is not a question of shooting the clones."

"Ah, yes, it's a matter of filling your purses."

"Look who is talking," Gunray responded. "You are getting profit out of this, and that's our droids you are using."

"Just like you. Without my fuel your ships won't fly just as well. Only because of me your rustbuckets are able to fight back. It is you who are thinking too much of yourselves."

Before the corporate leaders could respond, Danny's communicator beeped. Dooku wasn't around on that meeting, which was weird. Phantom activated the transmission device.

"Sir," the agent hit hic chest and bowed. "We have finally received the recordings of the events."

"Really?" Danny smirked as his colleagues shifted almost unnoticeably.

"Yes, My Lord. Our operative on Coruscant also reports about the explosion in the generator district. The entire night half of the planet shut down."

"When did it happen?"

"During the Senate meeting in the evening."

"Enough of this, Phantom, you are interrupting the meeting."

"You mean your shouting at me? Agent, please continue."

"Of course. I'm putting the recording through."

On the hologram appeared the video. At first it seemed as a usual evening. Then six cleaning droids rolled into view. The fact that there were so many of them was suspicious enough, but suddenly their shape changed, and, like transformers, they became humanoid in shape, two meters tall monstrosities, armed with blasters in their hands. They shot the crew and went into control room, where they killed the rest and started the self destruction protocol. The explosion caused a chain reaction, blowing the reactors one by one. All cameras were transmitting to the main control center, so the footage could be extracted. Phantom looked at the corporate leaders with a deadpan expression.

"Thank you, agent, return to your duties."

"Understood."

The transmission was over and the blue hologram was turned off. "Don't try to find this operative, he will go through the plastic surgery as a part of the protocol. You have planned this attack."

"It was a retaliation!" Gunray blurted.

"So you aren't even denying making those droids with only one purpose," Danny smirked. "How could this be a retaliation? Their design is unique, to get to Coruscant from the nearest Separatist world you need at the very least two days, while you had only two hours. You do realize what will happen if I send this to the media with my comments?"

"You are going to ruin the entire foundation of this country!"

Danny leaned back in his seat. "I have money in my disposal. I alone have more credits than all of you combined. I won't do this, unless you do something really foolish for my liking."

"You little..."

"Ah-ah-ah," Danny shook his finger. "I am the one with the compromising dirt on you. Oh, and by the way, tell anyone out of this room, and I will give it where needed."

God, they hated that upstart.

After the meeting Phantom returned to his mansion on Raxus. Komand had returned from Terra and was ready to return to her duties. That's why Danny was more than happy to go there. As he went inside the building, it was quiet inside. Suddenly Phantom heard a roar as he felt something on his shoulders and stumbled forward from surprise. He turned his head around and saw that Dani was hanging on his shoulders, wrapping her hands around the neck. The girl grinned widely, showing her missing front tooth.

"Hi, Daddy!" she said.

Danny chuckled, grabbing the girl and holding her in front of him. "Jeez, when have you become so heavy?" He asked.

"I'm just growing, silly!" Dani giggled.

"Who are you calling silly, young lady?" Phantom glared at her playfully, before tickling the girl.

Dani burst into laughter. "Da-Daddy, s-stop!" She gasped through the giggles, trying to get out.

"Noope," Danny smirked, shifting a hold on her and putting his daughter under the right armpit.

The girl started to wiggle her legs and hands, but once she realized that it was pointless, came up with an idea.

"Mommy, Daddy doesn't wanna let me go!" She shouted.

"You devious little rascal!" Danny exclaimed in fake fear.

Suddenly he was tapped on the left shoulder. Phantom swiveled there, but saw nothing, before Dani was pulled out of his grip. Danny turned around and saw his lover holding the girl in her arms and smiling at him.

"Hey there, handsome," Komand said, putting Dani on the ground. The girl immediately ran off somewhere. "How was your day?"

"Well, you know, the usual. There isn't evil without good, and this terrorist act allowed me to make the Council more lenient."

"And what about Dooku?"

"I'm not sure about his involvement, but if he takes their side, I'll reveal every dirty secret of theirs. But let's not talk about these nasty things now, hm?"

Danny smiled and slowly wrapped his hands around her bare slim waist. Komand didn't like that stuffy robes in the casual daytime. She didn't avoid nice dresses, but only during the balls. Funny how Danny was always attracted to the girls of such character. But he didn't mind this at all, and he could see that Komand didn't as well. She smiled softly at him and wrapped her hands around his neck.

"Like?" Komand asked.

"Well, I don't know. How was YOUR day?"

"Uh," she sighed. "You just have to kill the romance."

"No, I'm serious. You know I'm worried about you a lot," Danny stroked her orange cheek.

"Your duplicate has disappeared two hours ago," Komand deadpanned. "What could happen in this time?"

"A lot."

"Danny, you know I love you, but you are way too overprotective. I actually wanted to show you something."

Komand took his hand and led him through the corridor. Danny had a confused expression on his face all the way.

"Komy what is it?" He asked.

"Well, I've been thinking about this for a VERY long while. Now, when I'm back on my feet, I just can't wait any longer."

Phantom was even more confused to see her blushing. Just what was it? When they entered the empty room, Danny heard the lock shut behind him. He raised his eyebrow, before being pushed forward. With a yelp, Phantom fell on the bed, before spinning around.

"Alright, why did you..."

The clanking sound of the unbuckling shirt was an answer enough. Danny never was so green in his entire afterlife. Komand instinctively covered herself by crossing her hands in front of her chest, suddenly shy, timidly looking away with a red face. Danny's silence and wide eyes were too unnerving for her.

"What?" She asked barely above the whisper.

Danny smiled softly, tenderly pulling her closer.

"You are beautiful, my love."

Komand looked up at him and Danny didn't waste the tiniest moment to claim her soft lips.

"But...are you sure you want this?"

She only nodded mutely. Then Danny's hormones took the best of him, before he pulled away and smirked deviously.

"I think you have forgotten that I never get tired."

The look of sudden realization crossed her features, which made her lover smirk even wider. Danny had been waiting for this for years. And what could he say, it was worth every second of anticipation. He never felt so amazing as in this one hour. His...ehm...past research...proved both helpful and ineffective in terms of the intercourse with an alien being. But it sure was more than enlightening. Danny shifted on the pillow, before looking to the side with a smile. Komand was lying nearby with a dazed off look on her face, sweating all over and her hair was a mess. She caught him looking at her.

"That was wonderful," she said quietly.

Danny leaned to her and kissed her on lips. "I've never felt so good in my life, honey. You are amazing."

"I love you, Danny."

"I know. I love you too."

Komand chuckled. "Never in my life I would have imagined how it all happened."

Phantom looked at her curiously, still sitting nearby while putting his underpants on. Komand kept smiling.

"Just six years ago and so many things have changed. I was a student in the Academy and now I have just had a time of my life with the future Emperor of the Galaxy," she said sarcastically, making Danny roll his green eyes with an amused smile.

"Who knows," he shrugged. "It's not my biggest priority anymore, now that I have you, and the girls...I know it sounds selfish, but..."

"Danny, it doesn't. One thing doesn't go against another."

"Maybe. You know," Phantom suddenly chuckled. "Several advisors kept telling me that I need something else to be even more legitimate."

"What? You are more legitimate than anyone will ever be."

"Look who is talking, the girl who tried to kill me," Danny smirked.

"People change, Danny, and you helped me to. That's what makes me like you even more."

"Aw, I thought it was my sense of humor."

"Shut up, you dork," Komand nudged him slightly, but with a smile on her face. "And what your advisors are offering?"

"The Emperor should be an example to his people. And there are a lot of questionable things about me. My first daughter came out of nowhere, which makes her a de jure bastard, god, I hate this word, another was adopted. Dani is loved by the folk, no one will ever look at this, but the laws enact to her. I'm not even married. Besides, who could be so crazy to marry me and become even bigger target?" Danny asked sarcastically, putting legs to his chest.

"I could."

No usual person would have heard a whisper which came from a few inches next to him. Danny had sensitive ears, but he was too stunned to react. Phantom only froze, looking at the orange skinned woman, who looked more than serious. Danny could see the tiny spark of hope in her beautiful purple eyes.

"You...you will..."

"We already have a common daughter, we have been dating for half a decade. And to spend the rest of my life with the man I love above all else, what else could a woman wish for?" Komand put a hand on his cheek.

A silence fell afterwards. Danny just stared at her, still trying to comprehend what had happened. He couldn't believe his ears, she couldn't say yes, could she? Only when Phantom saw the loving gaze of the dearest woman in his afterlife waver, shifting into the look of sadness. Damn, he really should say something, not just sit there like an idiot.

"Who is proposing here?" Danny raised his eyebrow.

"Why are you trying to avoid the answer?"

"I'm just...Are you sure you want this? Our enemies attacked Dani a few days after she appeared."

"I am sure, but what about you?"

"Komy...I'm worried for your safety afterwards. If we were simple farmers on Demethra or somewhere else, I would have agreed without even thinking. But we are not."

"Your constant worry will make you bald one day," Komand sighed, getting into sitting position. The blanket slid a bit lower, and Danny unvoluntairy saw the released parts. "It will be fine, honey, just let it happen."

Phantom looked away as he was being torn apart from the inside. He just didn't know what to do.

"I...I need some time to think about this, alright?"

To say that Komand was sad about such development was to say nothing. But she understood his unwillingness, so she gave a slight nod, looking at the floor.

"Hey," Danny lifted her chin and peered into her eyes. "Please, don't give me this look, honey. It will be alright, married or not, I'll always love you."

He then left, but not without giving Komand a slight peck on the lips. God, he hated his job.

The situation, however, was rather satisfying. The droid factories increased their pace, Kaminoans were still trying to persuade the Senate to pass the bill. It would be most probably passed, because the Confederacy Military outnumbered the Grand Army of the Republic one thousand to one, or so the propaganda said. They had already deregulated the banks. It was perfect for Phantom.

The Republic was dying, there was no denying that. If the Confederacy doesn't finish it, the bankruptcy would. Not to mention that the Empire was only on its way to the peak. But Danny was not going to waste his soldiers' lives if he could use rustbuckets. Unless the intrigue games would demand so. What could he do, for now, sit back and watch how all puzzle pieces were falling into their places, while he was lazily swapping away any attempt to break the frontline.

He could concentrate on the problems of his own state. The beginning of the five year plan was met with certain difficulties. Some spent the money not like they were told to, thinking they knew better. But of course they were too smart to apply to the special curiae with the offers of their own. That weren't their money to waste, those were the taxes payed by the Imperial subjects. But there were also enthusiasts who were publishing articles and were agitating for 'A five year plan in four years!' There was someone who overcompleted his task on a factory five times. It was a great honor for him to be rewarded by the Emperor himself. And it was a gesture for everyone that their work was appreciated.

While Phantom was busy with the stack of documents on his table in the office, he got a call. Putting the tablet away, he pressed the button on his table. Danny blinked in surprise.

"What do I owe a pleasure, Senator?" He asked, leaning back in his leather seat.

"It's an important matter, general," Amidala said from another end. "The banks are deregulated and the Senate plans to vote..."

"On the clone production?" Danny raised his eyebrow. "Please, senator, I learn about what happens in the Senate before you know it. What do you want?"

"Look, I know what you are thinking about, but the Republic doesn't have anything to do with the attack."

"No, you don't know. Gunray and his buddies blurted it out. I don't complain, they have dug their own grave. Go on."

"You can help me to talk to the Banking Clan, then?"

"Why should I? I was in this only because of common interests."

"We got an information about where this man you are searching for is."

Danny froze. "And he fits the description I've given?"

"Yes, try finding someone else like that. So, if you are interested, please, come to Coruscant, I'll send you the exact coordinates."

Phantom turned off the transmission and smirked slightly. The situation seemed to be getting better.

On the next day Amidala was going through the corridors, accompanied by her close allies and friends Bale Organa and Onaconda Farr. The first was a mid aged human with black hair and mustache. He was wearing blue robes with black patterns. Farr was a Rodian - a green skinned being with oval head, two pointed ears, a long, but slim mouth. His big circular eyes were black, without pupils but with multiple bright white and blue spots. He was wearing a purple coat with zigzag black pattern.

"You know we can't do this," Padme looked at the Rodian. "The Republic is barely alive as it is, Uncle Onno."

"I know, Padme, I know," he responded, "Too sad that your attempt to convince the others has failed."

"We must not surrender," Bail added. "Do you have a plan, Padme?"

"Well, I think you won't like this, but we lack options."

The door slid open and they entered the senatorial chamber belonging to Amidala. When the door closed, the senators saw that they weren't alone.

"You know, that's quite boring around here."

Danny was leaning against the wall, taking a sip from the glass. "I hope you don't mind me rummaging through your fridge. Your planet is famous for its wine for a reason, Senator Organa."

Farr and Organa looked from Phantom to Padme in shock.

"You can't be serious, Padme. He is..."

"An another interested side," Danny let the glass float near him, freeing his hands. "Amidala has something what interests me, and I will go for it."

"How did you get in here?" Onaconda asked, narrowing his eyes.

"That's a question my fellow Council members ask daily. They are yet to get an answer."

"Speaking of, that's good you are here so soon, general. We have to act quickly. I need you as a member of the Council so you would press the Banking Clan from your side."

"Oh, that should be fun," Danny grinned. "But what for?"

"To make them talk. Without hiding anything."

"Yes, I can make a speech," Bail put a hand on his chin. "Please, learn about their interest. It will be easier this way."

"Hm, I expected a colder welcome, but fine. Let's go, Miss Amidala, we have a job to do."

"Wait, how are you going to get there? The corridors are full of people."

Danny grinned toothily, before turning invisible, much to the politicians' shock.

"I have a lot of tricks. Now, upwards!"

Phantom went out of the room. Bail looked at his fellow senator.

"Be careful, Padme. He is dangerous."

"He is harmless as long as we need each other's assistance."

Before returning and dropping invisibility. "I just realized I don't know the directions," he rubbed the back of his neck as his cheeks greened.

Everyone just stared. Was it really the same man half of the Republic feared? Padme stepped forward.

"Follow me," she said, before exiting in the corridor.

As they went forward, the senator heard the whisper. "If you are willing to chat, put a hand on your ear and pretend that there is a communication device."

Padme blinked and did as was told.

"I can't help but be curious. How exactly did you find him?"

"The Chancellor somehow got the information from Onderon."

"Onderon? That's bad."

"Do you think it has something to do with Mina?"

"If that's the case, it is too suspicious to be a coincidence. Someone told him. Come to think about it...Dooku is absent for too long and I've been wondering where he is. Certainly not on the battlefield. I would know."

"You are suspecting they have made an alliance?"

"Bad for Dooku, he doesn't know who he is dealing with. Once my 'buddy' loses the need of the Count, he will be disposed of without any trouble. But if Mina is in danger, I'll send my bodyguard to look after her. Thankfully she is still on Raxus. If she hadn't been at my home at the moment, who knows what would have happened to her and Lux during that explosion."

"You think one bodyguard shall be enough?"

"If there are assassins, HK will manage. If it is him, he will call me."

Once they were near the doors, two guards stopped them.

"I'm sorry, senator, but the representative is currently away in his residence."

Padme cursed quietly and walked a few steps away.

"Well, at least it's not far away," she mumbled.

"Where?" Danny asked.

Amidala nodded out of the window, pointing to one of the skyscrapers several miles away. "There, we should get going."

"Right behind you, senator."

A few minutes later they were sitting in a speeder car, operated by the droid driver.

"So, how it feels to be on Coruscant?" Padme asked.

"Well, it feels interesting to witness how the Republic crumbles."

"The Republic stood for thousands of years," the senator said, narrowing her eyes. "It will stand."

Danny chuckled, leaning back and putting hands under his head. "The Romans thought so too."

"Who?"

"One of the most advanced nations in my planet's history. I'm talking about their times of course. They overthrew their King and established the Republic. It didn't live longer than a millennia. Same things as here, corruption, archaic laws and self interest."

"And what happened?"

"Everything what happens with every democracy sooner or later. Republic managed to outlive the triumvirate of Julius Caesar, Mark Crass and Gneus Pompey. But the second triumvirate was the final nail into the coffin. And the one who emerged victorious - Caesar's grandnephew Octavian became the 'Imperator', or the Emperor, even though he preferred to be called 'The first citizen'. The democracy died. I admire this Empire, but I see and learn from its mistakes. Slavery and gladiatorial fights were accompanied by the system of basic rights still used even now. Get rid of the first and use the latter."

"It is still a dictatorship," Padme shook her head. "No matter how you call it."

"Maybe. But it is unavoidable. If one dictator doesn't seize power, it can be someone much, much worse."

Soon they got to the building and Danny turned invisible again. They went inside and were let inside and up the lift. The two then entered the poorly lightened room. There was a Muun sitting at the table, looking at the documents. He glanced up and sighed.

"Ah, Senator Amidala," he said with a distaste. "What do you need?"

"I came here to discuss the credit conditions you are planning to give."

"Are you ready to back down from your pitiful resistance?"

"No. I just want to know what you are planning," Padme sat on the chair, while the representative, on the contrary, got up.

"Simple, my dear. The Banking Clan will lend the money to the Republic on the interest of...twenty five percents."

"WHAT?! Last time it was ten!"

"That was before the deregulation, senator. It is not like you have any extra funds. Besides, the Confederacy has taken the money for three million additional battle droids."

Padme looked around, and the representative noticed this. "What are you looking for?"

"Probably for me."

The Muun jumped and looked to the side, seeing Phantom standing in front of the window. Danny looked at the representative, who looked stunned.

"G-general, what are you doing here?"

"We made an agreement with the senator here. A personal one, but I see nothing bad in helping her out in exchange."

"What kind of help?"

Danny smirked deviously. "I want you to return to your past interest per annum."

"This is not up to debate. We don't have any stake in this war."

"Which doesn't add you any points," Amidala added narrowing her eyes.

"Maybe you don't have any stake," Danny put his hands behind his back. "But you have interests. You either low the percentage or your investments will go under cat's tail."

"Y-you can't do that!"

"Oh, but I can. Believe me, I can grant the army bigger than both sides already have. And just imagine, the Confederacy won't spend a single credit. And can you feel how your purse is becoming empty?"

"Where can you take more than a hundred million of soldiers?"

"How about a billion?"

Everyone stared at him with wide eyes. The Muun then broke laughing.

"For a second I thought you were serious!"

"Has everyone forgotten about a standing army?" Danny examined his fingers nonchalantly. "My legions are waiting to jump into action shall I snap my fingers. You should be happy senator, I haven't used all my potential yet."

Padme gulped invisibly. Phantom was already tearing apart the resistance, if there were so many more...But where could he take so many? The Republican worlds in his disposal weren't that populous.

The Muun seemed not convinced. "I will not betray the interests of the Banking Clan. The interest stands as it was."

"I'm warning you, representative. If we exit this room unsatisfied, your organization will get into trouble. Hill won't be able to stop this."

"We are the biggest donator to the Confederacy. Your backwards regions won't be able to supply the entire state."

"I'm richer than you think."

"Get. Lost. Or I will call the guards. And the senator will be captured together with one of the biggest enemies of the Republic."

Phantom's growl made them both shiver. "Fine, we will leave."

As the door shut behind them, Danny looked down at the smaller senator.

"So, what was that about Onderon?"

Padme sighed. But before she could say anything, they heard an explosion.

"Oh, god, please not again," she whispered while Danny glanced out of the window.

"It is," he said, before suddenly dissappearing. He had to help.

Meanwhile, on another capital, Komand was too busy with her daughter. Well, Dani wasn't a small girl anymore, it wasn't as hard to look after the still energetic child. She was quiet all the time, occasionally glancing from the book in her hands. Dani also wasn't as unobservant. After being taught a bit of the Force, she could feel that something was wrong about her mother. Komand was just about to turn over the page, when she felt Dani tagging on her right hand.

"What is it, sweetie?" She asked.

"Are you okay, Mommy? You don't feel too good," the girl said in concern.

Komand smiled lovingly at her child, before kissing her on the forehead. She was the most precious thing for her in the Galaxy. "Yes, I'm okay, darling. We just...disagreed with your father."

"Why?"

"Well, he is just worried for my safety, because he loves me. And he loves you," the woman hugged her daughter closer.

"Why?"

"Why he is worried? Danny...he lost his family once, he doesn't want this to happen again."

"Maybe he doesn't. But why ask?" A voice sounded from behind.


	46. Chapter XLVI: The Suffering

"Untie me, you bastard!" Komand exclaimed.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a dirty mouth you have, girl," her captor crossed his hands, leaning against the wall and giving a fanged smirk. "You sure sound pretty confident for someone I've beaten before the fight even started."

"You are a cheating rat," the woman growled at the pale skinned man.

"Ah, cheating. Yeah, I have an experience with this. But seriously, I would watch your mouth if I were you. Your baby girl is nearby."

Only this prevented Komand from insulting him further. She looked at her daughter, who was held in the stasis field as well. The girl had cried everything away long ago, she was just looking away from the one she feared so much. Oh, and the man enjoyed the taste. How he missed this in the seven lonely years. Soon he was going to feast, but not without taking his revenge on the person he hated so much. The funny thing was, it was himself.

"What do you want?" Komand spat.

Her chin was roughly grabbed by a strong hand. The man's eyes glowed red as he moved the woman's head around.

"I must say, Danny-boy has a good taste for girls. But I'm not here for this. I want to make him regret every year of my imprisonment. And he will suffer. And you two are going to play an essential part in a little plan of mine."

Suddenly she spewed right into his face in distate.

"You little bitch," he growled, before slapping her as hard as he could. Komand screamed in pain and panted as her hurt cheek was becoming redder.

"You better give up while you still can. He will beat you to the pulp," she said.

"I'd like to see him try," the captor grinned. "So far you have been the one getting all the beating, until your knight in shining armor appears. Now let's wait until he learns about my little surprise."

The inhabitants of Coruscant were becoming very nervous. Two explosions in one week, that was enough to shake their nerves. The latter incident wasn't as destructive as the previous one, it occurred on the middle floors of one of many plazas. But they were lucky that the building didn't collapse and Phantom was nearby to save everyone he could. Without revealing himself, he managed to get the survivors to safety. They were contused for the most part, so it wasn't too hard.

Danny was wondering. That couldn't be the corporations. They were getting everything they wanted, and Phantom already had them on a tight leash. It couldn't be a gas leak, the Republic wasn't using any. Danny realized that Amidala was busy at the moment, so going to her was pointless. He was exhausted after coming in contact with an intense heat for so long, he was dirty from the ash and dust, he was disgruntled by this incident.

Rubbing his face with the dirty gloves, leaving coal black traces, Danny didn't even open the door of his mansion, before strolling inside the building. He simply phased inside. As he passed the corridor, went into the living room, Phantom suddenly understood that it was unusually quiet around. Maybe that was because the girls were out, he didn't know. He arrived quite late, after all. But Komand usually told him when she was going for a walk...

Suddenly Danny heard a low beeping sound coming from a living room. Raising his eyebrow, Phantom went there. He didn't see anyone in the room, but one small tablet was on the sofa. Carefully, in case it was yet another bomb, he pressed the button from the distance. Immediately he froze as the picture appeared on the previously black screen.

"Hello, Daniel. It has been a while, hasn't it?"

"I expected it to be longer, Dan." Danny glared at his enemy. "You look more lively."

"Ah, just as snarky as ever. I'm afraid I have to break these news to you."

Dan slowly moved the camera, and Phantom's green eyes widened in horror. His expression earned a laughter from the captor.

"Oh, what is this? Our mighty Emperor is scared?"

"I swear if you anything but touched a single hair..."

"I did. See the red spot?" The older ghost pointed at Komand's face.

The woman tried not to show any weakness. She wasn't about to give any enjoyment to that sick bastard. But Danny knew her too well, her purple eyes told him everything. That was before he heard something what was the final drop.

"Daddy!" Dani cried at seeing him. The girl hoped that her father would come to the rescue. He always did.

Phantom unvoluntairy clenched his fist, so tightly that he accidentally scratched his hands. His face did not betray his emotions, looking frightened wouldn't have helped to ease his daughter's fright. Phantom looked stoic, but his eyes were a raging infernal furnace, which was piercing the non phased captor.

"I never took you for the type to jump into bed with the nearest whore and make a kid. Oh, well."

The nonexistent wind made Danny's hair float. The only thing keeping Phantom from firing lasers from his eyes was the tablet, which was his only way of communication. He couldn't teleport there, Danny couldn't make out where they were in order to do so. There were no windows, not a single hint of the location. There were a lot of dark rooms in the Galaxy.

"Anyways," Dan interrupted. "You want your precious family back, and I have no intention to give them back just like that. But you can make a little errand for me and maybe I won't kill them."

"Maybe?"

The ghost gave a wide toothy grin. "Do you have any choice, Daniel? It doesn't seem so."

Taking a calming breath, Phantom looked away.

"What do you want?"

"Simple. This tablet consists the coordinates for that spot. Courtesy of Count Dooku."

"I knew he has something to do with this," Danny muttered.

"Why yes, you are his opponent, so we came to the agreement. Once you reach the point, call back, I want to see this. If you don't, oh well, you know what will happen."

Dan saluted, before ending the transmission. Danny took a deep shaky breath as all of his limbs started to shake. He fell on the sofa, putting a hand on his face. His look filled with determination. No, he wasn't going to let this happen again. No way in hell. Phantom looked at the tablet again, seeing the coordinates. He was shocked at where his destination was. But he had no choice. Danny got up, unclasping the white, but dirty cape. It was going to be nothing but a bother. Then, the ghost teleported away. To Terra. To the place where everything began.

Why of all places? How did he even know about this? Phantom also recalled ordering to pour concrete down there. But everyone was too busy with getting acquainted with the new regime, and his orders fell on deaf ears. But even several feet of concrete wouldn't have stopped him. It was the same GIW facility where he died. The same place where he killed his old family and was now trying to save his new one.

Not many things had changed. The dim light of the crimson ectoenergy was jumping from one obstacle to another, pushing away the darkness. The electricity was gone, so his own energy was his only light source. Danny went forward, and the darkness retreated. On his way Phantom activated the tablet.

"I'm here, Dan, what do you need?" He asked.

"You would know where," the older ghost smiled mysteriously.

"I'm getting sick of your riddles!"

While he held a neutral expression, a green blade materialized in Dan's hand, and its blade ended just a few millimeters from Komand's throat. Everyone flinched in surprise as Dan had just asserted the fact how simple it was for him to end his captives' lives.

"You catch some of these nasty habits when you can talk only to the annoying Time Master," he said. "Now go. I have had a little surprise prepared for ya."

Danny sighed and turned off the transmission. So Dan had been conversing with Clockwork, figures why he knows about what had happened. Phantom was going to have a chat with the old man once all of this was over. Danny then started to think. It was obvious that his enemy wanted him to suffer, but that would be...Danny froze. It was goddamn obvious. Finding the courage to press forward, the ghost went in direction of the dreaded room. Examination lab.

He remembered the directions well enough. It was something what is not erased from memory that easily. Through the corridors, full of long since rotten corpses in white suits, scorched chunks of metal fallen from the ceiling and walls. It was his doing, but during the attack he was specifically avoiding that particular room. Ghosts didn't have a nervous system or minds for that matter, but somehow they weren't immune to mental illnesses. And Danny had feared that the memories would resurface in a form of PTSD - majestic in its destructiveness.

Then Phantom noticed that the survived cameras were still blinking. Suddenly he heard a cackle.

"Oh, I was wondering how long it will be until you figure out," Dan said through the speaker. "Don't count that you will find me behind the wall. I'm not here," the ghost added in amusement. "You must recall this smell."

'What smell?' Danny thought, before finally the scent finally hit his nostrils like a fist, which penetrated through the reeking of the dead flesh. His eyes widened in horror.

"You are insane!"

"Have you guessed this only now, Danny-boy?"

"If I am finished, you come with me, you know that!"

A loud laughter came from the announcement dynamic. "This is where you are wrong, kiddo. By changing your fate you would have gotten me eradicated. And yet I'm still here. And that's all because of old Stopwatch. I'm out of the timeline, I don't depend on you or anyone else. Even Clockwork's tricks won't work on me."

"That's impossible! He would have known!"

"Then it was on purpose," Dan said, still non phased.

Phantom froze. He was right, there was no possible way for him to avoid Clockwork's foreshadowing abilities. He knew this, but why would he do such a thing? Why save that monster of all people? It was not the time nor the place to think about this. Shaking his head, Danny went forward, his white, slightly heeled boots steadily thumped on the metal floor, being the only source of sound.

The scent meanwhile was becoming stronger, and even if Phantom hadn't made a single breath since feeling it, it was becoming harder and harder to ignore. And harder to avoid seeing the faint crimson fog. Someone could mistake the color for a reflection of Danny's own light, but no, that color belonged to the fog itself. It was too weak to cause something more than a bitter taste on his tongue. Yet, yet. It was a matter of time.

And that moment was nearing. Finally Phantom swiped his free hand and the door slid open. Taking a shaky sigh, Danny went inside. There was a corridor, and the fog was now clearly visible. Danny immediately started to cough. He watched how the ectoplasm trickled out of his mouth, with a painful realization of being unable to stop this.

"Yes, I know what you are thinking about. I have put the Blood Blossoms into the ventilation. We need to keep things interesting. Your target is behind the opposite room. Oh, and by the way, you have ten minutes to get there. If you don't, your girls will join the rest of your friends."

Deciding not to waste any moment, Danny leaped forward. Two long walls were two big plastic windows, positioned to the sides, giving a clear look on the insides. But the sudden shout interrupted him.

"Too quick!"

The vent trapdoor slid open and now the source, or sources of the smell fell on the ground right in front of Danny. Those were red tulip-like flowers, with pitch black, purplish leafs. Phantom screamed in pain and fell on his knees, it was like someone had stabbed him in the legs. It made everything even worse, for the very reason of his suffering was a few inches from his face. He felt like he had dropped his head in a bucket of boiling water, screaming as his muscles spasmed. But with an enormous effort, Danny pushed himself backwards, away from the cursed plant.

Phantom panted, he didn't need to breath, but his body still demanded it. Komand watched horrified at this, while worrying how her daughter was taking it. Dani only shut her eyes tightly, probably thinking it was just a nightmare and trying to wake up. But she couldn't cover her ears. The Yuth glared at the monster in front of her, who was looking at the pocket watch in his hands, before noticing her lightsaber not so far. She closed her eyes and tried to pull it closer. But then she felt an electric surge course through her body. Komand screamed and gasped for air once the electricity disappeared. Dan slowly turned around.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I am the one with the remote, Komy," he smirked. "Now be a good girl and let me watch."

Danny started to think how he should get through that line. Now he understood why he was given so much time. His vision was becoming blurry as his eyes started to tear up from the venomous scent. He had no choice but to go forward. With a huge effort, despite aching and spasming muscles, Phantom rose on his legs, immediately leaning against the wall for support. Gritting his teeth, bitting his lower lip with his sharp fang, so the ectoplasm leaked down his chin, Danny started moving forward.

He ignored the stabbing and throbbing pain, which was becoming harder and harder to ignore. But he did ignore it, continuously moving forward. His clothes helped to ease the suffering, but it wasn't much better. Danny wasn't able to see farther than his hand, with which he groped his way forward and held himself from falling. But he could hear something. Something which shouldn't had been possible.

"Bring the scalpel, Jack."

'Hallucinations, that's just hallucinations,' Danny kept muttering mentally, turning away.

The burning pain was becoming unbearable. His every cell was on fire, like someone had showered him with the sulphuric acid. Danny's wobbling cough was becoming harder and harder, spilling more and more ectoplasm on the floor. A few droplets fell on the flowers, and their immediate evaporating into gas clearly showed the effects they had on his body. The only reason he was still walking was because of how strong his core was in keeping his body in one piece. But as Danny continued to go, the door didn't seem to be any closer. He involuntarily froze once he started to hallucinate again, now hearing a distant voice of his own.

"Please, I haven't done anything!" Danny pleaded.

"You are a ghost, and your dirty kind is nothing but pieces of slime," Maddie snapped.

"But I am your son!"

He then screamed as the blade was stuck in his chest. Phantom hissed and looked away from the window, even if there was no image, only soul freezing sounds. He started to pant as the old memories started to resurface. Danny tried to supress them, but that only made everything worse. He heard his own screaming, he knew that was only an illusion. But unconsciously his body was reacting to this. The deep scar across his chest started to ache almost as hard as during the moment it was created. The Blood Blossoms only made everything worse. He kept panting on the verge of consciousness, breathing in more and more of the poisonous air. His legs felt wobbly, it was hard to remain standing.

But suddenly, another phrase reached his ears.

"Danny never was our son, anyway."

What?

Danny's thought was immediately stopped as his legs gave up. With a loud yelp he fell, before screaming on top of his lungs. He came in physical contact with the plants. Not only they burned, but their stems were covered in a multitude of thorns, which cut through his clothes and gloves, scratching his face and inserting even more of its venom inside. His veins were becoming redder and more swollen. Phantom tried to get up again, but his hands could barely raise him above the ground, his legs were practically motionless. He did the only thing he could, Danny started to crawl forward, for he was getting out of time. The red fog, accompanied by his clouded vision, made it impossible to see anything, but he kept moving forward.

The thorns cut his skin, his inners were being twisted and fried by the seemingly harmless flowers. His throat was unable to even make a single sound, except for quiet moans as he tried to crawl his way out. Dan meanwhile looked at Komand, who looked frightened for her love's afterlife.

"He has one minute left," he commented. "I'm surprised he is still going."

Komand was silent. She prayed mentally that he would be able to reach the end, she knew he would. And her prayers were answered. Danny himself didn't know nor he remembered getting to another end of the carpet made of deadly plants. With the last push, he got himself from any contact with the flowers. And the further he got away, the weaker the effect was. The burning effect subdued, and, finally, he decided to do something drastical. Three meters away from the Blood Blossoms, Danny leaned against the wall, getting into sitting position and starting another fit of bloody coughing. He almost did it, the door was a few steps away. Phantom clenched his fists and slowly rose on his feet, shaking, as his legs were ready to twist in the previously unknown directions.

Danny moved forward, slowly moving the legs. But with each step he made it was becoming less hard. The Blossoms were deadly for every ghost, but just as quick as the pain starts, it subdues quicker than usual pain. If only the wounds and exhaustion could be as fast. Phantom opened the door and almost fell in, shutting it in the process. Taking a deep sigh of relief, Danny glared at the nearest camera. But he wasn't the first one to speak.

"Bravo, bravo, Daniel," Dan clapped his hands. "If I had a bouquet I would give it to you. Ten seconds before the end, how dramatic."

"I did as you said!" Danny shouted. "Let them go now!"

The older ghost let out a cold chuckle. "It wasn't a part of our agreement. Eyes to the screen, please."

Phantom twisted his head to the left, briefly taking in his surroundings. It wasn't a big room. Poorly lightened, without any furniture. With only one screen inside one of the walls. Dan was grinning widely at his younger self.

"Well, the deal was that I don't kill BOTH. And here is your prize. You get to choose."

Danny froze, his eyes widened in horror and he refused to believe what he had just heard. His core seemed to stop, and his skin became as white as paper sheet. That was the exact reaction Dan wanted.

"I'll leave you to decide. And remember, no tricks. I'll be back in a minute."

With that the smug bastard went out of the view, but he was still in the room, invisibly watching the amusing scene. Komand looked at Danny with a sad look on her face. But she gave a tiny smile, but it held no sign of any light emotion.

"Danny..."

"No. I know what you want and I...I c-can't do that. Where are you, maybe I can..."

"Danny, please," Komand shed a tear. "Please, for Dani."

Phantom's nose started to hurt, he was ready to break down at this. A sudden thought crossed his mind. This device must have been connected somehow. His invisible duplicate tried to follow the wires as fast as he could. Danny looked at his dearest love in the Galaxy. Dan must be listening to them, he couldn't risk it by telling his plan.

"Where are you, Komy. Just tell me!"

"I...I don't know, he knocked us out and carried here. Danny, that's all I ask, you must save our girl. Promise this to me."

"No, I'll save you both. Just stay with me."

The duplicate sped up on top of his speed, the aftermath of the Blossoms was ignored, and the stabbing pain returned. But he didn't pay the slightest attention to this, phasing through the door of the control room. There was an alien device, which was a transmitter. He had to find a way in, without getting any extra attention. He was running out of time, but it should have been a matter of two seconds. The second he touched the key on the keyboard, he was zapped with green electricity. Danny cried and made a step back, when the computer started to talk.

"Attention, Danny-boy. This is a prerecorded message. I see you have tried to hack my system. But you are forgetting that I am you. I know your sheme before you even think about it. You may try again, but it will be pointless. I've ghostproofed the computer."

Phantom gritted his teeth.

"I don't fucking care!" He exclaimed, before continuing to press button after button, each time being zapped with hundreds volts of electricity.

Danny's original flinched, for he felt part of the pain his duplicate experienced. He looked up at Komand and saw that she had tears in her most beautiful eyes.

"You are the best thing which happened in my life, Danny, no matter the end," she whispered.

"Don't say such things," Danny whispered, put his burned and scratched hand on the screen. His duplicate was almost there, just a few more seconds... "I promise. And I promise that when we get out of here, I will marry you that instant. I love you."

Komand started to cry and the tears went down her slim cheeks. "I love you too."

"Lovely," Dan interrupted them, but there was the white lightsaber in his hand. "Too sad I have to break it to you."

It happened too quick for anyone to notice. Komand flinched, but made no sound as the blade was struck into her chest. Danny couldn't believe what he had just seen. No, no, that's not possible. And only his daughter's scream snapped him out of his petrified trance. She cried for her mother, but it was pointless. Komand gave the last glance at Danny, with her final request shining in her eyes, before dimming for the last time. Something snapped in Danny's head, but his look remained the same.

"Tut, tut. No need to be sad, there is still one girl left. There is one final trial."

This time he didn't waste time and grabbed Dani by her ponytail.

"Let me go!" She exclaimed.

"Shush, brat. We aren't done yet."

Dani then did something unexpected. She bit him.

"AARGH!" Dan yelled in pain, before hitting her in the head. Dani cried as the ectoplasm slightly trickled from her temple. She was so scared. Dan seized the girl and put a lightsaber to her neck.

"Where was I? Ah, yes, see that vial on the table?"

Danny looked there. Indeed, there was a vial full of swirling red liquid.

"Yes, your favorite Blood Blossoms in a form of liquid. The point of this task is...I want you dead. More than you are now."

"Why should I trust you now?" Danny asked.

Dan didn't notice the dark note in his voice. "For you still don't have a choice."

He wanted to crush his enemy's hope. So far Phantom was managing to hold everything inside. No, he wanted to see this. Danny held the vial in his hand.

"But you have another choice. You may leave. Go out of this room and continue to conquer the Galaxy. Or you may drink this vial's contents and die, giving your daughter a chance to live."

"You lie."

"I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"You lie. I don't have a choice when it comes to my family."

Danny's eyes burned with the most immence hatred anyone had ever seen. He flipped off the cap of the vial and poured the crimson into his mouth, swallowing everything down his throat in one gulp. It had an instant effect, now his inners started to burn. Now the venom was devouring his core. Phantom hissed and leaned against the table, as he was being turned from inside. He felt his power fading away as the liquid was getting deeper and deeper. Maybe slowly, but without stopping. Danny dropped the vial and it smashed against the ground. Dan chuckled.

"Nice speech. But you know what, I think I've changed my mind."

"Daddy, help me!" Dani cried with the tear strained face.

"Oh, so sorry. Now..."

Danny perked up.

"Farewell."

Suddenly Dan's neck was grabbed from behind. So hard that the lightsaber was dropped, and his spine cords based in the neck emitted a slight crack. He stared into Phantom's crimson eyes.

"Found you," he growled.


	47. Chapter XLVll The battle of two Phantoms

Dan didn't have time to react. He was hurled through the nearest wall, and not in the intangible way, forming a hole in the piece of metal.

"Daddy!" Dani cried and clung to her father. "Mommy...she...she..."

Phantom kneeled near the girl, and even if they were still red, they held only worry. "Dani, I need you to get as far away from here as you can. Remember what I have taught you. We will meet later."

Dani nodded. "Please, be alright, Daddy," she pleaded.

"I doubt he can complete your wish, girl," Dan went out of the hole.

His appearance was different now. His attire consisted of the black and white suit, on his shoulders was a white cape with black inners. His boots and gloves were white. Dan's black haired beard became white, his skin was light blue, red eyes had taken a permanent character. Instead of the slick black hair, there was a raging white fire on top of his head. Danny immediately stood between them and flinched involuntairy. And Dan noticed that.

"Oh, what's this? The poison is still in effect?" He asked with a smirk. "I may have lied about the time it takes to kill you. You have about twenty minutes left, Danny-boy. You have to defeat me, and I am not a fool, I don't carry an antidote in my pocket. Looks like the girl is going to be an orphan."

Dani sobbed and looked up at her father, who soothingly stroked her pearly hair. She only hugged him tighter, looking away from the horrible monster. Older Phantom glared at the ghost in front of him, slightly pushing his daughter behind his back.

"If I'm going to die," he growled as his eyes glowed brighter. "I'm taking you with me!" He yelled.

Putting his hands together, Danny hurled the beam of red energy. Dan immediately summoned a shield, grunting under the monstrous pressure. He was even pushed back along with his own shield. Once the energy surge dissappeared, so did the block, but it was a grave mistake. With a roar, Phantom ran at him, and pushed them through the wall, not giving his enemy any time to become intangible. The metal bent and screeched as the two went through. To the street. Dan flew backwards, while Phantom regained his position.

"Of all places to choose, you have picked Coruscant," Danny muttered, shaking off the pieces of debris.

It was the Coruscant Underworld, the crowdy place by default and the crowd around screamed in terror and backed off. But once the initial shock eased, everyone realized who at least one of them was. But the image surely was different. His clothes were a torn mess, he himself seemed to be injured, but his face was what caused them to fear. Instead of a handsome young face was something terrific, not a bit lesser than that of his opponent. The crimson eyes had lost any pupils and seemed to radiate some sort of energy, the already pale skin was white just as the floating hair. The audience's eyes darted to another person, who rose back on his legs calmly.

"Alright, I must admit it was impressive, Daniel, but I have lost interest in this little game."

"A GAME?!" Phantom inhumanly roared.

Before he was even able to react, or before anyone could even blink, Danny grabbed Dan's neck, unknowingly repeating the same action the latter had done many years later. In a split second mostion, Phantom moved his enemy's head in an unseen motion, hitting the nearest metal beam.

"Still funny, you asshole?!" Phantom exclaimed, hitting the beam again and throwing the ghost away.

Dan fell on the ground ten meters away, with his eyes wide. Damn, the kid had become more powerful than he had expected. He saw that Phantom was approaching him steadily. The poison was supposed to be killing him! He was supposed to crawl and grief until his death came!

"You think that all of this was a game, does this hurt like in a game?" Danny growled. "Well then, I'm done playing games. I have only one hour to live, but I'm going to savor every second of ripping you apart piece by piece!"

"Try then, Daniel. Beating you in public shall be entertaining."

"Cease this immediately!"

Both ghosts turned to the side and saw the policemen droids. Phantom clenched his fists and cracked them in pieces, before throwing them away into the endless pit. The citizens scattered, realizing that it was dangerous to approach two beings. Two ghosts launched at each other, Dan was about to throw a punch, but hit only smoke. Phantom appeared behind him, firing energy ray his enemy was unable to block. Dan ducked aside, and the ray burned through another dark underground building. Once he turned around, there was no one there. Expecting a strike from behind again, the ghost was mistaken.

Suddenly two hands went from under the ground, grabbing the edge of his cape and pulling downwards. Dan hit the ground with an immense force, leaving several bend places on the metal floor. Phantom now appeared above him, before kicking him in the face. The power of impact alone made the crack beneath become bigger. The people couldn't even imagine how someone could be so strong like him, and as hardy as his opponent to stay alive after this and several more kicks to come.

Finally Dan managed to get back to his senses. His flung hand started to glow green, before a blast erupted from his palm and hit Phantom's chest. Danny flew several meters away, almost losing his balance. Dan leaped on his feet, fixing his head in the right direction with a cracking sound.

"Alright, that was not fun," he commented, before a burning green blade appeared in his hand.

Dan lunged forward, swinging his weapon. It was intercepted by the transparent lightsaber Danny had taken from under his clothes. The impact made the lightsaber sparkle and wheeze furiously, but it didn't shut down. Danny was being pushed back, but he stood firmly on his legs, and the metal screeched beneath his boots. Even they were stronger than the cheap material these constructions were covered in.

"Nice toy, Daniel, let's see how well it stands."

Phantom swung the blade aside, throwing a punch into Dan's face. The ghost ducked away from the strike, swiping the blade again, but it was blocked by Danny. The two started exchanging blows, but this was threatening to last forever. They both were seeing the opponent's movements beforehand, protecting themselves and trying to penetrate the enemy's perfect defense. They couldn't overpower each other. Phantom suddenly realized that Dan was pulling time, Danny didn't have time. He needed to think up something and quickly.

But in his thoughts Danny lost a part of his concentration, and Dan used the opportunity to get through, slashing the blade. Managing to redirect the hit, Danny wasn't able to prevent the enemy from slicing the lower part of his chest. They both knew that it didn't have any effect but sharp pain. Danny hissed, and Dan pushed him backwards. Phantom fell on his knees, wrapping his hand around his belly and his enemy leaped in the air to lend a final blow. Perfect.

When he was a few inches from the ground, Danny looked up and fired the energy surge he had prepared. It wasn't an ectoblast. It was more powerful than anything Dan had ever seen. The strike sent him several miles in the air, right into one of the buildings. Phantom jumped in the air with a loud sound, shocking everyone with his ability to fly. In a few seconds he got to the older ghost, who started firing down at him. In a midst of his rapid flight Danny was able to maneuver around the green blasts by turning his legs into the spectral tail. In his hands Phantom charged another red blast and for that purpose Dan created a shield to protect himself. It cracked, but the blast was absorbed. But the second Danny struck the shield with his fist, it finally gave up. They both crashed through the wall, landing inside.

That were common living barracks, which presented a big gray box, where people lived in one big room. And it just happened to be full of people. Even in his bloodthirsty state Phantom was not going to let the innocent people get caught in the crossfire. And Dan knew this, so he shot directly at the scattered crowd, causing Phantom to turn his attention away to make a shield. And the older ghost used this to land a punch to Danny's head, pinning him to the ground. Dan wanted to take revenge for the same recent action, but Phantom sprung his legs, kicking the enemy in the chest and sending him flying.

Danny rolled on his stomach, got into sitting position and then jumped on his legs. He then used the Force to take the opponent in a choking grip, before starting to thrash him like a ragdoll into the ceiling, floor, walls, the support beams' corners, until one of the walls broke under particular smash. Dan had tried to resist, but there was nothing he could do.

Phantom flew out of the hole, where he was attacked from below. He received a strike and was smashed into the wall as the harsh hand grabbed his head, before wiping the wall with it. Danny hissed in pain as the damaged metal pierced and scratched his skin. Phantom grasped the enemy's hand and sent an electric current. Dan screamed, and Danny didn't waste a second. He twisted the hand and threw the older ghost several meters away, charged the ectoblast and fired.

They ended up right below the Underworld's ceiling.

Dan kicked his opponent in the face. Danny staggered backwards in the air, before they started fighting hand to hand several miles above the nearest ground. No cars were flying through that place. Danny grabbed the ghost's hands, before pushing forward. He had seen what was above them. The flame haired ghost was caught unprepared, and screamed in pain once he saw how the pillar, standing under the ceiling, was struck through his chest. Phantom panted and flew a meter away. Dan looked at him with a deadpan expression.

"You didn't think it would be that easy?" He asked, without a single sign of dying.

"No, but you should stand still."

Electricity started to jump between his fingers. It cracked and wheezed, before concentrating in a single lighting bolt. The entire process took a couple of seconds and the green charge was unleashed with another thundering rumble. Dan screamed in pain, not having enough concentration to phase off from his capture. The electricity jumped from the rod and traveled much further down the wires, causing minor explosions to happen all along.

Phantom wasn't about to stop, but when a sudden stabbing and burning pain broke his own concentration, he couldn't maintain it. Dan used this opportunity to phase the pillar out. He immediately fired and Danny, still in pain, wasn't able to block it. He flew backwards, and the older ghost lunged forward, the hole in his stomach forgotten. It was already healing. Phantom grabbed the enemy's fist, but he was sent back. Danny suddenly stopped flying, descending to the ground on a rapid speed in a laying position. Looking up, Phantom charged the energy in his hands.

As was said, it was not an ectoenergy. In his moment of hatred and sorrow, the Dark Side was growing more and more powerful. And in these power waves he was releasing the pent up energy, which completely obliterated everything on its way, except the ghost, who was pushed away. Dan roared in anger, for his shields were too weak to hold back such attacks. The ghosts started exchanging monstrous blows, the thunder of which could be heard on a large distance around.

"What are you talking about?" Chancellor Palpatine asked the hologram.

"There is a havoc in the Underworld, sir, several buildings were destroyed," the police officer informed.

"How many terrorists are there?" Yoda asked, grasping his cane. Why was everything happening when he was at the Chancellor's office, he wondered.

"Those are not terrorists. The destruction seems to be...collateral damage."

"What's that supposed to..."

Another loud sound outside made Palpatine spin around and look out of the window. His eyes widened in shock as Yoda slowly stumbled next to him. They saw the two fighting titans, who were still trying to kill each other. Their battle had taken them to the surface, destroying everything on their way. It was hard to see who exactly they were, the observers only saw two streaks of black and white, red and green thrashing from one point to another. Once the large building came crashing down, Palpatine snapped out of his trance and looked at the Jedi.

"Master Yoda, you must do something with this. I don't think this is something our police can handle."

The small green alien nodded. "Indeed. Send the nearest Jedi, I will," he said, walking away.

Palpatine looked out of the window again. "So much power," he mouthed.

Phantom fired more ectoblasts at the opponent, who was avoiding them with a little to know. Danny's own supernatural reaction was getting blunted from the poison, which kept draining him of any energy. It was clearly visible, his veins had become red and swollen. Dan got closer again, not caring much about the tactics, knowing that he only needed to last for another ten minutes. Danny knew that as well, so he needed to finish this quickly. His train of thoughts was interrupted when he was punched hardly and launched into the surface, creating a small crater.

"My, my, you are losing touch, Daniel," Dan mocked as he softly landed on the ground.

Danny somehow managed to stand on his legs. With how hungry the reporters were, now thousands of Republican worlds were seeing what was going on in the capital, with only one question in mind. How was he still alive?! The wounds weren't healing anymore, and each scratch, each broken limb were in the same condition as in the second they were inflicted. Yes, Danny was still more hardy than any mortal could even imagine, but he wasn't fighting with a normal man either. His clothes had been a mess already, now there weren't many places covered by the black rags, showing his horribly scarred skin.

"You are pathetic," Dan commented. But from his appearance it was clear that this fight, unlike their last one, was exhausting for him. He knew that he didn't need to hurry. "You are weak both inside and out."

Phantom didn't say anything, as his chest started to burn from inside out. Danny automatically wrapped his hand around it. He didn't have time, the poison would kill him off soon. He wasn't sure if he would make it.

"Can't you see this? You are so keen on protecting these weaklings, but what can they do for you in exchange? They fear you, they fear me. We are gods, Daniel! With a single move of the eyebrow we can kill them all. Why shall you care about the mortals? Probably because you are just as vulnerable as they are."

"Well, that's one big ego you have here."

Dan looked to the side with a corner of his eye. He saw two Jedi, with whom Danny was way too familiar. His sight was getting worse, so he was unable to see who exactly that were. The healthy ghost raised his eyebrow, but then decided that he had no reason to hurry.

"It's not an ego if that's a fact," Dan crossed his hands. "Why would you save Danny-boy of all people? He is your enemy, isn't he?"

"Phantom will be judged by the Supreme Court," Obi-Wan said.

"And so far you had been destroying the city together if you hadn't noticed," Anakin added, before activating his blue lightsaber. "Now, I suggest you come willingly."

Dan raised his hands slightly with an innocent expression. Meanwhile a huge piece of debris started to float behind the two Jedi, surrounded by a green glow. He managed to keep a smirk from crossing his features. But the Jedi managed to predict the attack and sidestep the projectile. Dan easily grabbed the piece of debris which now flew at him, before throwing away the two ton piece of junk. He gave a wide fanged grin.

"Now, let's play," he said, charging the ectoblast. And unlike Danny, he wasn't going to hold back.

Speaking of whom, Phantom's legs gave up. He fell on his stomach as his muscles refused to move. He could only pant for breath as his natural reflexes tried to grasp the unnecessary oxygen. Danny tried to stand, but it felt like a damn dreadnought was put atop of him. Phantom closed his eyes, trying to figure out what to do. But he wasn't that worried for himself. He would never allow his daughter to be left alone in this world. Never.

"Admirable."

Danny blinked and noticed that everything around seemed to be frozen, with a blue tint everywhere. And the familiar Time Master was standing in front of him.

"That's all because of you," he whispered, even if the quiet phrase was filled with venom just as strong as the one made from Blood Blossoms.

Clockwork looked at him sadly. He started to look like a mid aged man. "If there was a better opportunity, I would have done it, Daniel."

"You call this BETTER?!" Danny said, raising the voice. But he didn't sound menacing at all, he was unable to.

"Yes, there were things much worse. You just never see the bigger picture, as much as I would like you to. I have a way to save you, but there is a condition."

"What kind?"

Clockwork took something from below his robes, and with a loud clanging sound, something fell on the ground near Danny. The young ghost's eyes widened in shock. It was a ring with an image of red gemed skull. It was glowing with an ethereal color.

"Why?"

"The Observants have been killed off by you. Without them, the anarchy in the Infinite Realms increases. My job is to maintain order everywhere. And who is better for this work than you?"

"And if I don't want to?"

"The Ring of Rage can save you. Not many things will change. You will secure the position of your Empire in the Ghost World, the ghosts will look up to you. But most importantly, your daughter will still have her father. If you don't do that, she will be put under the Council of regents. They will fight each other, ravaging your Empire and destroying the innocent and kind girl you know. And once she becomes an Empress, Danielle won't be at all like you. I don't think that any father would want his child to suffer like this."

Danny turned his eyes away. The decision was obvious. He loved Dani too much to leave her alone. It was probably a test from the old Stopwatch. Phantom looked up at the ancient ghost.

"Fine. I agree."

The ring slipped to his finger by itself. In a matter of seconds all effects from the poison dissappeared. A gust of red gas went out of his mouth, fully leaving his body without any pain. He suddenly felt a power surge through him, it was a strange feeling, Phantom felt tingly at first, before a sudden void inside filled like a glass of water. With a push, Danny slowly got up on his legs. He noticed that his clothes were alright, and even his white cape was hanging off his shoulders. But there was something he still needed to do.

Phantom punched the Time Master in his jaw. Clockwork rubbed the hurt place, he had never felt pain, but he guessed he deserved it.

"That was for keeping Dan safe and sound. How...is this possible?" He asked.

Clockwork didn't need elaboration. "The Crown of Fire isn't an artifact of its own. Plasmius needed it, because he wasn't a King from the beginning. You have beated Pariah, so for you, the crown is nothing but accessory. You can summon it."

Danny raised his eyebrow, but his mind was on something else. But Clockwork was first.

"I'm sorry, Daniel, this is something I cannot do."

"Why? The Observants are dead! What's stopping you from saving the person I love?!" Phantom shouted all of a sudden.

"The rules weren't set by Observants, but they were the only ones who could allow to break them. I must follow the laws. And one of the rules, I can't interfere in such matters."

"FINE!" Danny shouted, but Clockwork could see a small tears in the young ghost's eyes. Phantom was used to keep his emotions inside, even if his limbs shook a little.

"Time Out!" Clockwork shouted, hitting the button on top of his staff. He vanished.

The time returned to its usual pace. Danny could see that Obi-Wan and Anakin were about to be beaten up.

"Turn around, Dan, and fight someone of your league!" Danny yelled.

Dan was stunned. The time had run out by now. He slowly turned around and looked wide eyed at the sight of the completely healthy ghost. Phantom's hair kept flowing, but the eyes returned to their green color. Along with the hair, his pearly cape was thrown around slightly by the wind.

"How is this possible?!" Dan asked.

Danny narrowed his eyes. "I think you recognize this," he said, showing the ring.

And Dan recognized what it was. And he didn't like it at all. Did the air become colder?

Phantom did as he had been told. Immediately the crown of the Ghost King appeared on his head. But it was completely different now. Instead of piece of black metal flickering with green flames, there was a regally made of ice shards. It was similar in shape, but the ice was still shining with bright light. Danny's eyes became the coldest shade of blue anyone could ever see. And the pupils were gone yet again.

"Now," his voice gained a loud echo as the wind around became stronger. "Bow before the Lord of the Dead!"

No one could understand where the soul freezing blizzard came from, it covered the distance of twenty miles around, and Phantom was an epicenter of the snowstorm.

Dan realized that he had to get away. He flew off, but the cold was getting under his skin. Phantom appeared in front of him, before the ice brass knuckles appeared on his hand. Danny kicked Dan in the face, spitting the ectoplasm around and on the weapon. Phantom grabbed the edge of the ghost's clothes, in a split second the ice dagger came out of nowhere, before he started slashing across the enemy's chest. Dan screamed in pain, tried to get out of the grip, but Phantom had become too strong for him to struggle against. Danny kept holding him, before flipping him over and throwing him against his own knee, breaking the spine in the process.

Moreover, Phantom launched Dan downwards, right on the ice spike which grew out of nowhere. It pierced through, but the core seemed somehow undamaged. The spike disappeared once Danny landed on the ground. Dan flew in the air, but an ice beam impaled him. His chest was frozen, but after another strike, the ice cracked, stabbing his body in many places. Dan yelled again, but was pinned to the ground, when he felt a hard boot on his chest, pressing so hard that it could even leave a footprint. He hissed in pain.

"Hey, Daniel, let's not be overdramatical," Dan laughed nervously.

Phantom was silent, only piercing him with his cold eyes. "Your plan is ruined on many levels, Dan. You wanted me to hate you, and that's the only thing you have succeeded in. But I'm not going to be like you. I have given a promise to my loved ones that I will never become a piece of filth you are. I'm going to kill you now. Be happy that I will make it quick, as much as I would love to do otherwise for taking my love from me."

An ice lightsaber materialized in his hand, ending near Dan's core. The ghost gave a dry chuckle.

"Our father wouldn't have approved."

"What Jack has to do with this?!"

"Oh, you mean you don't know? Our ancestry is more interesting than you think. Too sad that you want to kill me."

His hopes of prolonging his existence were pointless. Immediately the blade pierced the ghost's core, splattering the ectoplasm and a glowing blue liquid, the contents of his core. Dan slowly dissipated into nothingness, a gust of green air. Phantom panted, but then, surprisingly to everyone, he fell on his knees. He cried, for his emotions couldn't be held inside anymore.


	48. Chapter XLVIII: The aftermath

No one could ever imagine seeing Phantom like this. Broken, in tears, ignoring that he was not alone. The Jedi were at loss about what to do. Anakin and Obi-Wan, asking his older friend for the further course of action. But he was silent, feelings of sorrow and pain were radiating off the ghost in unspeakable amounts. Surprisingly, that was Danny who spoke first.

"Are you going to stand there?" He asked in the almost emotionless voice. He didn't even look their way.

"It is our duty to arrest you, Phantom, you are wanted for your crimes against the Republic."

Danny got up on his legs and stared at the republicans with a neutral expression. "I'm not in the mood for debates about what my crime is. It is not up to you, mortals, to decide."

"Not you too," Anakin groaned. "We just saw you kill one of these 'gods'."

"Even gods can be slayed. You are mortal, can you live through what I have?" Danny lazily pointed around himself, still sounding emotionless. And indeed, the destruction was evident. "Just what I thought. Now, if you excuse me..."

"You aren't going anywhere."

Danny's hand flickered with red smoke. "Is this a threat, general? You want to beat someone who has wiped the floor with the one who did the same to you? I'm not too keen on making you my subjects in that meaning."

They didn't get what he had meant, until the realization dawned upon them.

"What did you mean by the 'Lord of the dead'?"

"Exactly what you have heard. I'm yet to bring all of the undead under my rule, but I don't have time for this. No one has canceled the war," he made a jab, reminding about who had called off the negotiations.

"This is ridiculous," Anakin said.

Danny then dissappeared in a cloud of smoke. Phantom stepped out in the accursed building where the tragedy had happened. The crown was gone from his head as he went forward. Surprisingly, there was no one else inside. Danny heard quiet sobbing. He sighed heavily, Dani hadn't run off as he had told her. But the newly proclaimed Ghost King wasn't going to blame his baby girl. Even he hadn't experienced something like that, to lose someone so precious, especially for the eight years old child - her caring mother.

Danny kneeled near his daughter, the rustle of his cape caught Dani's attention. She turned her red face to her father and lunged into his arms, quietly sobbing into his shoulder. She never felt safer than in his loving embrace. Phantom hugged his little girl, as tight as he could without causing her any discomfort, he unconsciously feared more than ever to lose his small bundle of joy and happiness. The very thing which kept him going against all odds. He was her father, and he wanted to see how Dani grew up and achieved the greatness surpassing his own. He knew she would.

"Don't leave me, Daddy," Dani begged.

The ghost's core melted at her words, he hugged her even tighter, if that was even possible. "I promise, my little phantom. I will always be with you."

They sat like this for a few minutes without saying a word, holding each other. But after a while Dani's sobbing subdued, her breath became steady. She had fallen asleep. Situating the girl in his hands, Danny brought himself to face at the heartbreaking sight. He slowly moved Komand's locks away from her closed eyes and her beautiful face. She felt so cold. Phantom felt a lump shoved down his throat, as he held himself from another breakdown.

Why? Why everyone he loves should die?

"I never break my promises, Komy," Danny mumbled as a tear went down his eye. "I won't let any harm come to our baby."

It was painful to go through the funeral procession. Extremely so, especially for Dani. But it had to be done properly, according to all the rituals their culture dictated. But it was also a moment when the Empire learned that the rumors had been correct. There was something going on between the two. They just didn't know how big their love was. The Yuth traditions meant certain procedures, some of which Danny didn't approve of, but out of respect he had to comply with the religious representative's requests. Komand always followed her people's customs, some days of the year she didn't eat, in some other moments she was making small sacrifices, like throwing a chiken leg in the fire with a mumble of prayer. At the funeral she was dressed in the most beautiful clothes there were, and the Emperor made sure of it. His core panged at seeing her so beautiful in what looked like a blissful sleep.

But in the end, as the tradition dictated, she was put in her family mausoleum. No cultural building had been destroyed since Phantom's rise to power, and even the tombs of the old noble families were left untouched. Not if Danny would have ever let something to happen to something so important to his lover.

But he let something happen to her.

The object of his main concern was Dani. She had been quiet ever since the entire ordeal and that worried her father. Phantom knocked on the door of the girl's room. Without waiting for a response, he entered it. The ghost saw Dani on her bed, looking at the distance. The girl glanced at the doorway, but didn't say anything. Danny sighed heavily and sat near her. The covers rustled quietly as he landed on the soft matress. The curtains were closing the cloudy outside from the view halfway.

"Dani, sweetie, look at me, please."

The girl complied and got into sitting position, with her legs beneath her. Dani looked up and two pairs of neon green eyes met. Danny wrapped his right arm around her, pulling the girl closer.

"The servants say that you almost don't eat," he started in a concermed tone.

"Sorry, Daddy," Dani mumbled immediately.

"I'm not scolding you, sweetheart, I'm just worried. It isn't healthy, especially for someone as young as you."

The girl shook her head, her snow-white ponytail jumping from one shoulder to another. "Not hungry."

"Dani. You may be a half ghost, but both species have to eat. Or would you rather drink ectoplasm?"

The ghost girl grimaced. It tasted horrible, like used socks in a form of the liquid. The action caused a small chuckle escape Danny's mouth.

"Just as I thought. What do you want for dinner?"

"I told you I'm not hungry," Dani said grumpily, pouting her lips.

"How are you talking to your father?" Phantom asked jokingly, before his gloved fingers traveled to her armpits.

A loud fit of giggles filled the room. Dani tried to wriggle out of his grasp, unable to hold back the laughter.

"Da-daddy, please stop!" She cried.

Phantom did as Dani asked, letting her pant for breath. She sat back and looked at him with a small smile. Well, that's the progress. Danny just wanted to make his daughter happy again. Some may say that it was improper in such time, the ghost didn't care about what others would think. Dani was a child, if he let her sit alone all day, she would stop being the same peppy girl, closing in herself, and that was something Danny couldn't allow. Maybe he was paranoid and nothing would have happened, but he wasn't going to take the chances. God, it was so hard to be a parent. But he would have it no other way.

Later that evening Danny managed to bring the ghost girl out of her room. They were sitting in the dining room. It was huge, but with only two of them, the royal family were sitting at one end of the long table. The flames crackled in the fireplace, being one of the few sources of light. The chandelier above was the second one. Danny put the spiced piece of one of many exotic animals in his mouth. The sharp canines in his mouth made it more simple to process. As he put the glass of wine to his lips, Phantom noticed that Dani was poking her salad. She wasn't about to touch it. Danny sighed and put the glass back on the table.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

Dani straightened on her tall silk chair. She only looked at the seat in front of her, which used to be occupied. Phantom noticed where she was looking and sighed again. He put a hand on the girl's small shoulder.

"Dani, I know it must hard for you. I miss her, too, believe me. But you won't be able to change this by starving. Please, sweetheart, eat your dinner."

She nodded and started to eat. Phantom smiled slightly. He was glad she was listening to his words.

Phantom decided that it was time that the princess started to get accustomed to her responsibilities little by little. For now, she was going to simply follow him on many important events. He knew that Dani didn't like it much, but she always did what her father said. In reality, Danny wanted to keep her as close to him as he could. And during the month afterwards, he dedicated every second he could to tending his child. Only the most important matters were discussed with him, the responsibilities were passed to the Imperial Council, all war questions were solved by Grand Admiral Thrawn and Lord General Haseas.

Dani had nightmares for a long time. That's why Phantom was near her, in his arms she fell asleep, in his arms she woke up all in tears and sweat. But gentle strokes had an effect on the child, Dani always calmed down. One time she didn't want to go to sleep, because she feared of seeing nightmares again. But Danny convinced her. Later that night the nightmare awoke the girl, and Dani went as far as calling him a liar while crying. She didn't know how much she hurt him, even if he knew that were just emotions.

Phantom tried to lift her mood. They read fairy tales together in turns, and Dani was proud to show her reading skills and happy to receive a praise. Danny even took her on a small sightseeing around Terra, as they were incognito. This way he connected the enjoyable and useful, also checking the situation on the planet. At least there was something satisfactory.

It wasn't much, maybe, but the girl felt better, Danny could sense it. And if she felt better, so did he.

The demarche he had planned was going to happen. No one believed he had a sizeable force under his control. And, even if carefully, he was going to reassert his authority. Now he had another purpose in mind. He wasn't going to obey someone who had assisted to kill his love. But Danny didn't show his newly found hatred during the nearest Council meeting. He could sense fear in the fellow members. Of course, they now feared the one who could snap their bones with a flick of his hand, they lived only because he wanted them to. The battle was seen everywhere, but the Empire itself. Dan's plan probably was on taking his place as the Emperor, since they had almost the same face.

Mygeeto was a huge industrial hub of the Northern Outer Rim. After it had been taken over by the young dictator, Phantom proclaimed the planet to be the capital of his Protectorate. Of course, while still remaining within the CIS. Since it was the confederacy, he was free to do whatever he wanted with his region of space. No one knew where Phantom took all the money to develop the region, while collecting taxes for the central government. But there was a special spot in the Imperial budget for the development of the Outer Rim. It would slow down the general progress, and the five year plan would have less ambitious plans, not to mention the heavy taxation of the populace. However, unlike the Republic, the Empire had no debts, the healthcare, even if very far from perfection, was free, just like the education, coexisting with commercial schools and hospitals. None of this had been before the Emperor. The people had reasons to love their ruler, despite everything.

Mygeeto used to belong to the Banking Clan, but Phantom drove them to the simple representation, excavation of the rich resources. The locals, who had been not much different from the slaves, were eternally grateful for being granted standard working rights. Still, they were only four percents of the generally Muun populace. The Clan wasn't happy, but Phantom was the one with guns. Now they shut up completely, for he wasn't really limiting their excavation projects, and the fear was added to this.

And now the wide streets of the central city were filled with the loud rumble. To demonstrate the power he had, a small portion of the Imperial military was summoned to the planet, namely several cohorts of the First Legio and the Death Corps. Forty one thousand soldiers in total. It was a marvelous view from the tribune where Phantom stood, looking at the standing army, dressed in the shining white armor, of the hardest veterans who were led by their Emperor. After the speech, which caused the applause from the audience, the orchestra started playing the inspiring marching music as the soldiers started to stomp forward, their legs hitting the ground in a perfect synch.

In front of each square of the squadron, in which the cohorts had been split for the march, were walking the special soldiers - the aquilifers. The legionaries were holding the two meters long chromium rods, with the golden hawks with horizontally spread wings on top. It was the symbol of the First Legio. A bit below the top were rectangular standards of the cohorts. Usually those were the banners of the cohort's homeworld, for each of them was conscripted from only one planet. For example, the Terran cohort had the blue and white symbol of the UN.

As he watched the transpiring scene, surrounded by his commanders and his daughter, Danny heard a metal clanging behind. He briefly looked behind and raised his eyebrow.

"What do I owe the pleasure, general?" He asked.

Grievous approached him, as usual, with hunched back and the black cloak hiding everything but his head. The commanders stepped aside, while Dani clung to Phantom's leg, threatening to rip his pants off.

"I'm here on behalf of Count Dooku."

Danny's look darkened for a moment, but it dissappeared just as quickly.

"And what does he want?"

Grievous suddenly coughed, putting his clawed metal hand to his mouth, hidden beneath the mask. "The entire Galaxy is watching. And as the Supreme Commander of the Confederacy, I'm ought to be here."

"Statement: So, basically, you were sent by Dooku to spy here," HK stated bluntly.

"HK, please, let me do the talking," Danny raised his gloved hand. "Let it be known that I'm not telling anything. But you can remain and observe. The cherry on top is yet to appear," he pulled a smile to his face.

The Yuth noticed that the smile was forced. Grievous' eyes fell on the girl clinging to Phantom's leg, making her shake even more. Danny didn't like this at all.

"And who is this?" Grievous asked.

"My daughter, now, would you kindly."

The general snorted and turned away, looking at the parade downwards. The news about the infamous dictator having a daughter would soon be everywhere, but what's the difference if his enemies already knew this? Danny stroked the girl's hair and she calmed down, relaxing her grip. Phantom looked at the parade again, leaning against the railing. The thunder of drums and rattle of plastoid armor sounded surprisingly fitting each other. But suddenly Grievous' eyes fell on one certain part.

"This is the banner of Kalee," he commented.

"What? Ah, yes, the Kaleesh. They aren't officially the part of the First Legio, more like auxiliaries. But the equipment is standardized."

"A what?"

"Auxiliaries are local volunteers who are willing to serve in the army. They aren't enlisted on the main worlds, only in distant places."

'And they also are not the imperial citizens,' he added mentally.

"So the Kaleesh are ready to serve you?"

"They don't serve me, general. They are my allies who listen to my orders. But yes. They are ready, for I had helped them in their time of need. Why sudden interest?"

"I am the Kaleesh."

"Oh, I see. So many things became clear," Danny mumbled in the end.

After the last division marched down the wide street, the rumble of the vehicles could be heard over the orchestral music. No one had ever seen such tanks on repulsors. Yes, the design was purely made in the halls of IRB. The main advantage of the entire imperial technologies was their adaptivity. Without a second of doubt the doctrines, the military techs, were abandoned the second more proper device or idea was discovered. They were introduced in the army, taking the best things from the minor states of the Unknown Regions. Being principal in the war was not the way of the victors.

Walkers weren't used in the legions after the enemies started destroying these running, more like crawling, ducks. Artillery and tanks could do the job well and without them. Danny felt something else from Grievous. He sighed, keeping his hands under the cape behind his back.

"If you want to say something else, general, speak," Phantom said, still holding the same neutral tone he had assumed ever since the funeral. He only broke it while talking to his daughter. That's all.

"Dooku also had a request."

Danny tried to keep the neutral expression. "And what is it?"

"His Acolyte went rogue. Apparently, she has run off to your 'Protectorate'. You are known to have a wide network of spies, so you are able to track Ventress down and bring the traitor to him."

"And how does it feel to be Dooku's errand boy?"

"I'm no one's errand boy," Grievous growled.

"The best slave is the one who doesn't realize that he is not free. You don't owe anything to the Banking Clan, yet you still serve them and Dooku."

"They give me the opportunity to kill as many Jedi as I can. And that's enough."

"Well, they are not the monopolists in giving such an option."

"Ah, I understand. You want me to join you. Not going to happen, Phantom, I may appreciate the action, but it doesn't mean that I'm going to join your little game for power."

"Fine, I'll find this apprentice if your boss gives me the information about how she looks like."


	49. Chapter XIL: The Ancestry

"Ahsoka, what is wrong?" Anakin asked in concern.

"Oh, Master..." Ahsoka straightened. "It's just...nothing serious, don't worry about this."

"No, no, I will worry, Snips. You have been like this for a pretty long time. What happened?"

"I told you, nothing is wrong, Master," the teen crossed her hands.

"You are bad at lying, Ahsoka," Anakin shook his auburn haired head. "Look, there is no one around here. You can tell me, my lips are shut."

The girl sighed. "It's just...one of my...friends has died."

Anakin's look softened. The young Jedi Knight sighed. "I understand your feelings, then. Is this someone I knew?"

"No, I don't think so. This is someone I've met while I was away from the Order. She and her lover were like parents to me all this time. And she was killed month ago."

Anakin looked at her strangely. "Now I understand why you weren't eager to tell. No attachments are allowed."

"And you are fine with this?" Ahsoka asked in surprise.

The Knight shifted on the seat inside the meditation room. "I guess there is a point in telling you something about myself. I lost my mother, too, year and a half ago. Although, I haven't seen her for ten years before she was killed by Tuskens."

"Oh...I'm sorry, Master."

"Hey, don't worry, I'm supposed to sound reassuring here," Anakin smirked, patting Ahsoka on her shoulder. "If meditations don't help, we can go on a mission. Actually, no, that's not up to debate. We do have a mission. Go pack up, Snips, I'll be waiting at the entrance of the Temple."

The two got up, while Ahsoka smiled slightly. He was just like her father. She needed such a talk, and so far she didn't have an opportunity to make a call to the rest of her family.

Meanwhile the object of her thoughts was preparing. The Legio had to show its power against the clone army to prove its value. There wasn't any number superiority, which made the droids equal to them. Danny knew what to do. The people of Umbara asked him for protection, because he was the most trusted member of the Council, after the Count. They decided to defect to the Confederacy after their Senator had been murdered in the Republican Senate. Fight in a total darkness against the army of highly trained individuals? What a perfect opportunity.

And Dooku did give Danny the information about his apprentice. The old fool didn't have a clue about Phantom's awareness, and that the ghost was going to use any opportunity to his advantage against the wannabe Sith. He was going to murder that bastard in the most painful way, but it was not the time, not yet. The Imperial Intelligence got to work.

Their search was fruitful as ever. This Ventress was supposedly killed at the battle of Sullust, but Dooku somehow learnt that she was alive. Then by looking through her biography found in several sources, including the Jedi archives, courtesy of Ahsoka. There was only one place where Ventress could go within the Protectorate territories - Dathomir.

As many planets, it had an incredible history Danny was ready to dive in but had no time. The thing that made it stand out were the so called 'Nightsisters'. Phantom was rather curious about this matter, because they were known to use some kind of the magic, which couldn't even be considered the Force, since no Jedi, Sith, or even Danny had no idea of what the hell that was. He left for Dathomir immediately, along with Dani. The princess was maybe put in danger, but she was safer together with her father even in the deepest corner of hell, than alone in their Raxus mansion. Or at least that's what her father thought.

There weren't any large cities, only villages, in the territory Danny got them to. Two ghosts went deeper into the settlement. He needed to ask for directions. Dani sticked closer to him. As Phantom was wearing his black robes, the girl was wearing the same clothes many Paladin students wore - short robes with black and white colors.

"Why are we here, Daddy?" Dani asked nervously. She didn't like the looks the locals were giving them.

"I need to know where to go. We just have to ask."

It was harder than he thought. The locals were less than friendly, always eyeing them suspiciously. Judging from their attitude,the life there was connected with deep problems. The folks around seemed to be all Zabraks - the yellow or orange skinned beings with many black patterns on their skin, multiple small horns going around the crown of their head.

Danny rubbed his chin, thinking about what to do. Suddenly he heard a small whisper.

"Hey, what are you doing here, Outlander?"

Danny glanced to the shady space between two shacks. There was one of the locals.

"Ineed to find the Nightsisters. Got any leads?"

"The Nightsisters?!"

Danny simply moved the cape away, showing the edge of his lightsaber. The Zabrak's eyes widened.

"Oh, fine, maybe you won't get killed. Look, I'll tell you, but, please, I need you to help me. They have taken my brother Savage. Bring him back if you can...B-but don't tell them I asked you!" The alien stammered.

"Very well, where should I go?"

"Go through this forest to the north. They will find you first."

Danny nodded and went off, his daughter following him. The rainforest reminded Phantom about the Ghost Zone. Dark trees without leaves, growing from the black soil, the wide, but thin purplish fog surrounding everything. Dani's pace was quicker than that of her father, so she had to occasionally slow down. The ghost girl was too afraid to run off, but she was still impatient. She pouted.

"C'mon, Daddy, you can go faster," the girl said.

"Maybe I can," Danny smiled. "But do I want to?"

"But we can get there faster!" Dani argued.

"Where is 'there'?" Phantom raised his eyebrow, smiling fatherly at the girl's baffled expression. "We have no particular destination in mind, my dear. There is no need for us to hurry."

"But we could get faster."

"Who knows, maybe we are already where we need to be. We were told to go north, which is what we do. Do you remember the story about the rabbit and the turtle?"

"Well, I'm not gonna sleep near the end," Dani said confidently, putting hands to her hips.

Phantom chuckled with an amused smile. "That was not the point of the story, sweetie. The moral was that you shouldn't be overconfident and impatient."

The girl's expression became thoughtful. They continued going, until Danny suddenly stopped. He calmly stood straight, fiddling with his gloves, much to Dani's confusion.

"You have already lost the element of surprise, why don't you come out?" Phantom asked.

After his words they found themselves surrounded by a group of eight people. They were all female, who seemed to be quite agile. The women were dressed in tight crimson clothes, with masked hoods covering their faces. Their weapon was most peculiar. The main part was made of dark metal, while the bowstring seemed like a laser, with a small metal cylinder in the center of the string to hold on. The arrows were also lasers, and they were pointed at the visitors.

"What a nice welcome," Danny said dryly as Dani kept closer to him.

"You are lucky we haven't killed you this instant," one of them hissed.

"Why haven't you?"

"Because I told them to," An elderly voice sounded.

The visitors looked to its source. There was an aged woman with white skin, covered in black tattoos. She was wearing the crimson pointy robes. Danny had heard that the Nightsisters were called witches, now he realized that the assumption was quite correct. All she lacked were a hat and a broom. Phantom raised his eyebrow.

"And why so?"

"For I have sensed something interesting in you and your daughter, general."

"Then you probably know why we are here?" Danny asked with a note of dismissiveness.

"No, I do not," the witch smiled.

"Several matters. I prefer discussing things personally. You live within the Protectorate. I try to make the lives of my people better, and you turning the people from local towns into slaves is not what I view as a good life."

"Of course, if you wish to talk, we will."

That unwavering elderly smile of hers was becoming unsettling.

"Also, I'm searching for someone. Do you know anything about Asajj Ventress?"

Judging from the trace of twitch, they knew what he was talking about. And, most probably...

"Ah," Danny looked at the one who shifted during his words. "So you are the one our dearest Count wants to see dead?"

The woman took off the hood. She had the same pale skin as her comrades, accompanied by blue eyes and bald head. The Dathomirian glared at the newcomer.

"How does he know about me being alive?" Ventress hissed.

"Maybe someone told him," Danny said in a non caring voice. "I have been asked to find you, but I have no intention to bring you to Dooku."

"What?"

"Please, come inside," the witch said, gesturing forward. "We shall talk about everything there."

It's not like Danny had many options. He took his daughter's hand and together they followed the seemingly professional assassins. Maybe some cooperation could be useful. What highly positioned politician doesn't dream of skillful killers to get rid of the opponents? But his thoughts then returned to the matter at hand.

The Nightsisters lived inside the tall and wide cavern. The construction was impressive despite the relative primitiveness. The main sources of light were the lanterns, along with some strange bluish glowing liquid around the small islands, on which the village was located. Two ghosts caught occasional glances towards them, and if Dani gripped her father's hand tighter, Phantom remained calm. Inside one of the pillars was a room, with a big table and a sphere with something swirling inside. The witch ordered everyone but Ventress and two ghosts to leave the room. They sat at the table.

"First of all, I'd like to introduce myself. I am Mother Talzin," the witch said.

"A pleasure," Danny said calmly.

"Now, would you kindly to tell us your course of action?"

"First of all, I doubt that Dooku wants his Acolyte back so he could give her a hug."

"You guessed right," Ventress responded dryly.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Phantom leaned back in his chair.

"The enemy? Last time I checked you were obediently doing what he said," the former Acolyte said.

"Do you think so? I gain more than Dooku from doing such things. He has done something I'll never forgive. We both want him dead, and I think this is where our interests cross."

"Indeed," Talzin put in. "Ventress has returned seeking assistance. What do you have to offer her?"

"An opportunity. I seek to employ someone who used to be close to the Count. Of course, the task will last for long. But I guarantee the results if she joins the cause. I'm the richest man in the Galaxy. Money offer a lot of opportunities."

"I believe we can offer her just as much and without money. But, of course," Talzin looked at Ventress. "This is for you, child, to decide."

The Dathomirian nodded. "I'll think about it. But I give no promises."

"Very well," Danny said, before putting the communicator on the table, sliding it near the former Acolyte. "I'm always available."

Ventress took the thing, got up and went out of the room. Suddenly Talzin looked at Dani.

"I was not aware you have a daughter."

"I'm Dani," unexpectedly responded the girl.

The witch blinked, unaware about the reason of the similar sounding of the names. "Well, there was something else you wanted to talk about."

"Yes. I'm rather curious about this magic of yours."

"Only the members of our sisterhood can know how to use it. We aren't going to teach you."

"Maybe at least a little demonstration?"

"This is not some show for the by passers, general," Talzin narrowed her eyes for the first time.

"Sad. And here I was wondering if it was something like this."

At these words a green burning sword appeared out of nowhere in his hand. Talzin jumped off her seat. Her eyes were ready to jump out of their spots as she goggled at the sword in shock. Dani covered her snicker with her hand.

"That's...Impossible!" Talzin exclaimed.

"Now you can understand my curiosity. And judging from your reaction, I've hit the bullseye. But it causes even more questions to arise."

"Oh, yes. Such as how you can do it without incantation. Or even the Water of Life."

"I beg your pardon?"

Talzin called some more Nightsisters. Later she told the ghosts that she was going to lead them to the secret place, that's why they needed to wear something around their eyes. Danny didn't complain, his senses were going to come to help shall they try anything funny. Dani was holding his hand, so she wouldn't get lost as well.

It took about five minutes. Once they reached the place, the bandage was taken off. Yep, now Phantom was confident that they were indeed witches. The dark room was filled with a lot of stuff: the jars, the vases with something nasty smelling. There was even a small pedestal, which half spherical insides could serve as a cauldron.

"Talzin, why have you brought the Outlander here?"

If Talzin's voice didn't sound witch-like, then this one certainly did. A strange hag came into view. She had a tall haircut of gray hair, she could carry milk jars with all the wrinkles on her face. On top of her head was a headdress made of bones. But all in all, she wasn't tall.

"Daka, you are the wisest of us, this man can use our magic."

Daka's reaction was similar to that of her fellow cultist. "How is this possible?"

"I have a theory, I repeat," Danny put in. "If you show me this 'Water of life, the question may disappear."

Receiving a nod, Talzin moved her clawed finger along the wall. And like from a small tap, a liquid poured down from a tiny hole down the passageway within the floor. It was neon green, glowing in the darkness. Phantom's eyes widened in shock, while Dani sat on her knees and looked at the liquid closer. She sniffed it.

"Is this the ectoplasm, Daddy?" The girl asked, much to the elders' confusion.

"Yes. Yes it is. It explains a lot."

"What are you talking about?" Talzin asked.

"I've previously thought that Terra is the only planet which has a connection to another world, from which this liquid originates. You can say that learning its secrets is our family tradition. As you can see, I've gone further than anyone."

Now the cultists were really curious.

"Go on."

"You are taking this stuff from the world of the dead. This information is not going to leave the room, I presume?"

"Of course."

"The Republic knows about me being the 'Lord of the Dead'. But they don't know the extent of this term. I'm not a mere Sith Lord. I rule over the world of the dead. And behind the plane of existence," Danny made a small green flame, which emitted cold instead of warmth. "I'm the most powerful being, the King of the Dead," Phantom smirked toothily, showing one of his fangs.

"And I am the princess!" Dani chirped in.

The Nightsisters blinked. "What do you want with us?"

"I propose cooperation. If we combine our knowledge, we will gain a huge power. Your ectoplasm is weak, it looks so pale that it seems almost blue. I'll give you the freshest to power your magic. But I hope to your further assistance in my future...plans."

"We will think about the offer," Talzin responded. "It was the most interesting conversation...Your Majesty."

Danny didn't and couldn't know whether they really believed his words, but Phantom didn't care much. They obviously wanted the power he could give, so he knew that they weren't going to try anything funny.

They showed him some of their magic, one of the most impressive was raising of the dead like true necromancers. Danny was studying the culture with interest. Dani seemed to inherit her father's curiosity, she was learning together with him with undying interest. The Nightsisters religion was based around two deities: The Fanged God and the Winged Goddess. They worshipped the two, and Phantoms were present during the rituals. Thankfully there weren't any human or alien sacrifices, otherwise Dani would have been removed from the site. At least the only death she had witnessed wasn't bloody.

The Nightsisters got a confirmation of Danny's position when they saw that he could order the decaying zombies around, while not being one of their clan. Needless to say that his status improved greatly. Phantom himself was surprised that he could boss the mindless dead puppets, but he didn't show it, trying to seem natural. Needless to say that the King of the Dead could now bring the corpses to life. Too sad that that were only mindless corpses who could walk and fight.

Phantom showed them a few minor uses of ghost power. Given the right ectoplasm, the witches were able to copy the low powered things, like becoming intangible. Surprisingly, they utilized the Dark Side to connect with the ectoplasm. As was mentioned before, in large quantities it would have been a disaster, but Danny made sure nothing could happen, warning the witches about the consequences if they did otherwise. He used one trick to make everything look mystical. Instead of simply giving the ectoplasm, he used a few droplets of his own, from a small cut on his hand, mixed with the weak ectoplasm

They also came to an agreement. The Nightsisters now had to warn Phantom about their intentions to...'use' slaves. Danny said it was to cover up the problem, but in reality, he could pull time to make the required slave disappear to safety. It couldn't always work, but it could save someone. In exchange for such nuisance, Danny was going to supply them with the desired liquid. But all in all, they had come to friendly terms.

Ventress was absent during the entire ordeal, Talzin told Phantom that she was trying to follow their own plan. Danny hoped it would fail, but not so severely. He needed her alive, not slained by Dooku.

One incantation from the scrolls of Allyan Magic, named after the founder of their society, caught the ghost's deep attention. It allowed to go into someone's memory. Danny started to wonder, and a sudden thought occurred in his mind. He recalled Dan's words. He never was Fenton to begin with. He was adopted. Maybe...his true family was still around somewhere...A spark of hope appeared in his core. With this spell he could recall his infancy, to learn who his true parents were. But it required someone else to cast. That's why Danny went to Talzin.

She was surprised at his request, warning that it was a painful process, a part of their acceptance ritual. But Danny didn't care, that's what brought them to the place they were at the moment. Phantom was laying on the stone bed, while the witch was fiddling around with her assistants. Finally, with a use of pure ectoplasm, Talzin started to chant. Another cultist started to whisper on Danny's ear.

"Close your eyes," she said. "Don't open them, because the spell is going to be broken."

Phantom did as he was told. Suddenly a sharp stabbing pain went through him. But it wasn't as painful as he had imagined, Danny didn't even yelp. You know that feeling when you see flashes after tightly shutting your eyes. But these flashes suddenly gained shapes, before he finally saw that he was somewhere else.

It was weird to move by imagining the movement, not by making steps. But Danny got used to it quickly. He took a look around himself. It was a bedroom, not huge, but not small either. Outside of the window was a thick green fog, with nothing else around. It probably was a station above the gas giant. There weren't many distinguishable features inside the room, but a crib near the wide bed. Danny had a suspicion to whom it belonged. After he approached the crib, Phantom saw its occupant - a raven haired baby, who was peacefully sleeping in his place.

Yes, it was Danny.

Suddenly Phantom heard the rapid footsteps. He unconsciously stepped aside, forgetting that he was simply recalling his own memory. The door was opened and a woman went inside. She was very beautiful, with raven hair tied in a tail and vibrant blue eyes. The woman had two tiny metal implants above her eyebrows, and was wearing a pearly white and gold plastoid armor. Wait, Danny knew where this armor was used...

His train of thoughts was interrupted when he saw the woman slowly sitting at the edge of the bed near the crib. She was softly looking at the sleeping toddler, before taking a sigh, gently scooping the sleeping child in her arms. Her look turned pained as she held little Danny, who woke up and stared back at her with his ice blue eyes. He didn't show any intention to cry.

"You are a manly one, huh?" The woman smiled sadly, tracing her hand along his hair.

Phantom could only observe how she interacted with the toddler. He had seen such shining in the eyes only in Komand when she looked at their children. There was no doubt, he was looking at his mother. Ignoring the painful pang in his core, Danny's eyes went back to her armor. The armor was utilized in the Eternal Empire, but...it was dissolved almost four millennias ago. There could be only one explanation.

"Don't worry, honey, your father will never find out. I won't let it happen," his mother muttered.

"I'm afraid that's not an option," Phantom heard a familiar voice.

Of course.

The woman jumped away from the bed in a blink, holding Danny closer to her armored chest.

"Who are you?!" She asked.

"Worry not, Senya Tirall, I wasn't sent here by your...affair partner. I'm Clockwork. The Lord of Time," The Time Master tapped on his staff as he became an elderly man.

"How is this supposed to make me to trust you?"

"Because I can solve your problems. I don't usually interfere into the mortals' actions, but I can and I will make exceptions concerning your child," Clockwork said. He then looked directly into Phantom's eyes. Of course he knew where the ghost was goin to stand.

"Am I supposed to believe this?" Senya asked with a note of bitterness.

"I'm afraid you are unable to see the bigger picture. If young Daniel remains here, he is going to suffer the fate of his sister, for his potential surpasses hers."

"Daniel?"

"This is going to be his name in case you agree. His father has sensed his birth, Tirall. And it is a matter of minutes until he comes here. But I can take your child away, to the time and place where his past won't be able to get him."

"Then take us both," Senya said in a wavering voice, but without showing any sign of breaking down. "My two sons despise me, my daughter has been taken from me. I can't afford to lose my baby again."

"I understand this. But know, that he will find out about you eventually. In fact, his twenty four years old self is looking at us right now. Don't look around," The Time Master added once he saw Tirall turning her head. "He is simply watching his memory. I can't take you as well, because Daniel must walk this path alone. He won't know anything about the Galaxy at large until the time comes. He is going to change it forever. But his greatness depends on whether you agree or not."

"I...I can't."

The communicator beeped. With a shuddering breath, Sanya pressed the button.

"Milady, His Majesty's ship is here, he demands you come see him immediately," the ensign said from another end.

The woman's look turned into that of terror. She looked at Clockwork, realizing that he had said the truth.

"You must make this choice quick," he responded. "Believe me, your 'husband' isn't going to spare him."

Sanya's hands shook, and, as if feeling his mother's emotions, the toddler started to cry. Tirall looked at him with a small tear.

"Take him. Take him as far as you can."

She outstretched her arms and handed little Danny to the Time Master, who smiled slightly.

"You've made the right choice. Maybe you will see each other one day. Time Out!"

The real Danny meanwhile stared at the empty room, his mind racing. His eyes suddenly widened in shock, as if thunder rumbled inside of him. Then, with another stab of pain, he opened his eyes. Gasping for the unnecessary air, Danny fell off the stone bed, again in the dark dungeon on Dathomir. Judging from Talzin's expression, she had seen everything as well.

"Your...your father is..." she started saying.

"Emperor Valkorion."


	50. Chapter L: Birth right

A.N. We made it to fifty chapters, congratulations! *blows party horn*

"Oh, god," Danny muttered as he started to hyperventilate, gripping the edge of the stone bed. "Oh, god!" He exclaimed.

The Nightsisters were silent. They were just as shocked as the ghost was. The fact that the son of the most powerful and menacing Sith Emperor outlived his father for over three millennia was stunning. Yes, Danny had one hell of a family. His mind was racing, so many questions appeared in his mind as he couldn't even decide on which one to think. But he managed to regain his composure and take a sigh. Danny looked at the witches. And he sensed fear.

"No one must know about this, am I clear?"

He received multiple nods. Danny decided to leave Dathomir, he had far more pressing matters in hands. His heritage gave a lot of opportunities, but just as many dangers. The Jedi would kill him on sight. And, honestly speaking, the Sith didn't hold much love for Valkorion either. The Emperor was a vengeful person. After his Sith Empire failed and his old body was killed, Valkorion destroyed what remained of it for its failures, using the resources of his new Eternal Empire. But there was one place which could benefit his son's country.

"My Lord, may I ask a question?"

Phantom shrugged on his seat. "Go ahead, Grand Admiral," he urged Thrawn to continue.

"I'm yet to hear why we are going to the edge of the Galaxy."

The Chiss had long since understood that he could openly speak his mind to his monarch. And Phantom often listened.

"Simple. Zakuul is right out there. And that planet is so sickeningly rich that it alone can fund our Empire. It holds the riches of both the Sith Empire and the Republic. And even after that pathetic 'Eternal Alliance' took all aurodium kept outside of the planet, I suspect that something was kept in secret. Valkorion was pompous, but he was not a fool."

Thrawn raised an eyebrow, fixing his white uniform. "May I ask for the details? After all, you have taken only Hyperion, so you are not going to acquire it by force, obviously."

"You are right as always. I have a trump card down my sleeve. I hope it is going to work. That depends."

"On what?"

"Whether the Intelligence reports are right or not."

Despite the tyranny of the Emperor, the people of Zakuul lived more happily than ever before during his reign. He was the one to turn the uncivilized tribes into the citizens of the most advanced planet-state. It was time for the true heir to return and claim the Eternal Throne.

The enormous dreadnought came out near the planet. It had three moons and was generally filled with jungles and swamps. Lower half of the planet was covered by the enormous ocean. But there was also a huge city, filled with narrow pillar structures, some of which even reached space. The Spire was the city's name. The biggest pillar was where the Throne was located. But Danny suspected that the place was abandoned. Why would Consul need the regalia of the monarch?

There was a bunch of the ships, but nineteen kilometers long Hyperion made them look tiny in comparison. Danny leaned back in his seat. The Eternal Fleet had been destroyed long ago.

"Try to establish communication with them," Phantom ordered. "We don't need them to fear us."

"That's why you have taken the most threatening ship of the Imperial Navy," Thrawn said dryly.

"I said that we don't need them to fear. But I want them to witness our power."

Soon the hologram appeared. It was a man dressed in a golden colored armor. He was a human, had slick black hair and firm traits of the face. Under his armpit he was holding a helmet.

"This is Captain Cree of Zakuulan Defense force. State your business."

Danny rose from his seat and stood in front of the man. "Daniel Phantom. I came here with a certain...request, and I'd like to solve this issue peacefully with your Consul. If you don't mind, of course."

The captain narrowed his eyes. "Your ship must remain out of the orbit. You come down alone and we escort you where needed. You've caused enough panic as it is."

Phantom shrugged. "I don't have anything against this. Send the coordinates, I'll be down there."

The message was received. The ghost looked around and saw Dani sitting on a chair near one of the screens. Phantom approached her and noticed that she was playing a game on the control console. He raised an eyebrow.

"Whose place is this?" He asked the Grand Admiral.

"Ensign Price, I recall. She is having an annual time off."

During the time of peace, every soldier could have up to the month, depending on superiors' recommendations, vacation each year. Still, there should have been a replacement, and Danny voiced his thoughts. Thrawn only looked at him with a raised eyebrow, his red pupiless eyes showing that this was bluntly obvious.

"You have summoned the ship with a remark 'immediately', Your Majesty. We didn't have time to fill all positions. If you wish, I can call someone from another post."

"Judging from the fact that my daughter is currently using that console for gaming, the place is not really relevant. Let the people do their job. By the way, call HK from his room. I'll meet him in the hangers."

At the Chiss' nod, Danny approached the girl, who was rapidly pressing the keys on the keyboard. Phantom smiled, crossing his hands.

"Alright, kiddo, let's go."

Dani pouted. "Can I continue later?" She gave puppy eyes.

"Nice trick, Danielle, but I think we are there for a long time. Common now."

The girl complied and got up from the seat. The group went to the nearest hanger, to X-70. Yes. The shuttle was now his.

They flew down to the surface. Phantom, just as his daughter, watched the Spire with a great marvel. It made Coruscant look pathetic. A shining golden metropolis that sprawled outwards from the central tower, the Spire was a vertical city, with skyscrapers and pyramid-shaped buildings suspended above each other in a climb nearly to the atmosphere. All roads on Zakuul eventually led to the Spire, which was built atop the Old World—Emperor Valkorion's first attempt at building a city, which had not been grand enough for him. Well, he succeeded.

Phantom calmly looked around the landing platform. Thrawn did the same. Soon they were greeted by a squad of the soldiers in a golden armor. Captain Cree was in front of them. Danny dusted his black uniform nonchalantly, while Dani shifted on her legs. The HK observed the weapons, and as such, their potential shall everything go not as planned. The captain stood near the Emperor, being of the same size as the monarch.

"Follow me," he said. "The Parliament session is going at the moment, they will hear you out."

They went forward. Danny noticed the weapons too, before deciding to try the hostile atmosphere. You don't barge into someone's house and then request to talk.

"Nice pikes," he said. "Do they have the lightsaber blades?"

"Yes, they do," The captain responded curtly.

"He is really gloomy," Dani mumbled. Phantom and HK snorted. What the adult has on mind, the children have on their tongues.

They went to the large building, also spire-like, but somewhat standing out. Occasionally they were meeting people dressed in white, black or golden robes. Zakuul was inhabited mostly by humans last time the known records were made, so it was no wonder that they were the only race the group met. And they got a curious audience. Phantom pleasantly noted that Dani was holding quite well under the multitude of stares.

On the inside everything was just as rich. Through the corridors filled with golden statues, they entered the huge hall. So that was where the Parliament was holding a session. And again so much gold, did they even care about the expenses?

"Do you have a plan?" Thrawn asked.

"Yes, we'll talk. Dani, watch and learn."

Once the guests were noticed, the man sitting at the white tribune rose from his place. He was mid aged, with raven hair and goatee, wearing crimson robes.

"It has been a long time since anyone came to our planet with an armed ship," he said.

"Hm, it has been thirty five hundred years, if I'm not mistaken," Phantom crossed his hands, standing at the center of the hall. "Our meeting was bound to happen...you are the consul, I presume?"

"Yes, your name is already known to us, Phantom. Speak."

"Oh, but I simply wanted to ask about your whereabouts. After all, a lot of things had changed in the Galaxy since Zakuul stopped being its center. And you have been living in isolation all this time."

"We are not responsible before any of the galactic states. Neither we should report to you."

"I'm getting to it, Consul. You can't imagine how wrong you are. Tell me, on whose account is this banquet? Where did Zakuul take the money for all these aurodium statues and rich clothes you are wearing?"

"What does it have to do with the current situation?"

"Just answer my question and I'll answer yours. Oh, nevermind, it was a rhetorical question. Zakuul was brought up from the Stone Age by one man. And even though he is despised by many, me included, his achievements are not to be taken easily. Valkorion enriched Zakuul, and you are ought to be thankful for this."

"You are wasting our time, Phantom, we have more pressing issues."

"Like a series of mass suicidal acts?" Danny asked calmly. Everyone stared at him. How did he know?

The ghost continued as he slowly strawled around, gaining an eye contact with all the deputies. He radiated the noble air around himself, and everyone, including his daughter, could feel it.

"They don't want to follow the God they fear so much. They fear someone who has been dead for centuries. But remind me yet again, who had defeated him? My point is...the one who stands in front of you is his heir. I am Daniel Phantom, the last son of the Eternal Emperor Valkorion - the Dragon of Zakuul, the Slayer of Izax!"

While some seemingly were shocked and horrified, some looked confused, some looked non-amused. Dani blinked curiously, while HK's professor met an unexpected error.

"Do you really think we are going to believe such nonsense?!" Consul shouted and leaped to his feet. "The Emperor has been dead for three millennia! You don't seem like you are that old!"

"And for how long my father has ruled? Ah, yes, several centuries. Is it so hard to believe that I can do the same? My life is eternal, and I've waited for this moment to claim what is mine by the right of birth!"

"We are democracy, you demon's spawn! You have no right to demand anything here!"

"Demon? Oh, so you admit my heritage. That my father was the Demon Savior from the legends? The one who thought that the destiny is within our own hands, nor Izax, nor any of that pitiful gods who are now being worshipped again?"

Three men in the room understood what he was doing, including the director of that orchestra. Phantom was pulling on a very convincing role, acting as if he really believed what he was saying about their religion. HK knew perfectly well that Danny was deceiving the deputies. But he had to present more proofs of his heritage, obviously, and the droid started to wonder how Phantom was going to pull that off. Seeing the girl dangerously close to him, HK stepped aside. Consul gripped his last safety rod.

"How do we know that you aren't an imposter?"

Phantom remained calm. "Well, we can't wait for thousand years to confirm my identity," he said dryly, "And father kind of faded into oblivion. Maybe you can offer something? I don't exactly have the birth certificate. I had been born in secret, so my beloved parent couldn't find me."

"This is your concern, not ours. You are far from confirming your claim."

"Well, and you are far from denying it. We face a dilemma. But let's not look at it this way. We can be more pragmatic. I'm surprised that Zakuul still stands unharmed. The Eternal Fleet has been destroyed and you are basically defenseless. The Galaxy is at war yet again, and your riches will be a target once the idea crosses their minds. Our Empire is neutral in this civil war, and it is surely more powerful than the corrupt Republic and the Confederacy, plagued by the corporations in charge. The Empire is ruled by law and justice, and I am their bringer."

Dani watched her father in awe, her attention solely on him. The girl had never watched his speeches, but it seemed more interesting and stunning than she thought.

"I have destroyed the crumbling state to build a new one on its place. The Empire spans from the entirety of the Unknown Regions on the West to Korriban on the east. Our banners hang on Dromund Kaas and Endor, and our soldiers maintain order within many Republican worlds, which have been brought under Imperial Protectorate. They haven't experienced the blight of the Clone Wars because of our might. And we offer the same opportunity to you. Me being the son of Valkorion is just a cherry on top."

"Be it solely my decision, you would have been sent away, but we are democracy, something you are trying to destroy..."

"Actually...no. Our laws forbid from interfering with the political system of the planets, unless there are armed revolts. You will get a representation in the Council on the right of the world of federal importance. The people of Zakuul won't lose their rights to control their own planet. We won't pull you into the conflict. I have created the Empire of peace, so we will let you to decide your future. I understand that we should wait, we will give you time until tomorrow at the same time. If you wish, we will send you the example of our constitution. Farewell."

Mere minutes later Danny was aboard of the shuttle. Dani jumped on the spinning bar stool, while Phantom poured her some blue bantha milk, very nutritious and tasty stuff. The girl then ran off to her room, holding the glass with both hands. HK stood nearby as his Master picked up the glass with Twi'lek liquor. Danny made a sip.

"Query: Is it going to be like on Terra?"

"You mean a killer who tries to send a blast through my head? No, I have a better option. Zakuul is located comfortably near the Hutt Space. I had previously got a few...acquitances among the closest advisors to the Hutt bosses. I pay them more than that scrooges, and since they only care about the shiny aurodium ingots, I got nice agents. Never know when such petty pawns can be of any use." Danny let out a dark chuckle, before making another sip. "Anyways. Hutt Cartel is coming soon. But I made sure that they send a small enough fleet. Hyperion and Zakuul defense navy can fight them off. And once I defend them...they will kneel before their Emperor."

On the following day, just at the agreed time, Phantom stood in front of the Parliament again. Now the meeting was filmed, and Zakuul watched the historical moment. Consul stepped on the tribune. The fact that he was above obviously made him smug, Danny felt as such.

"Daniel Phantom. After careful consideration and debates, the Parliament has come to conclusion."

Phantom made a few steps, using the nonexistent stairs. He floated on the consul's eye level, to the audience's surprise. Danny crossed his hands as his hair was tossing around slightly. The consul didn't seem so proud of himself anymore.

"I'm ready to listen," Danny said calmly.

"Zakuul shall remain independent. You must leave with your ship."

Phantom kept the same neutral expression. "Have it your way. I have promised that I will leave. But I don't want our visit to go in vain. You know how to contact us. If you wish for something, we can discuss it."

"We'll see about that."

'Oh, yes, we will,' Danny thought with an internal smirk.

Phantom landed on his feet and went off. Once back on Hyperion, the ghost ordered to fly to the system close by. He knew about what was going to happen. Danny was sitting at the table in his room, rummaging through the documents sent to him. He looked up from the datapad at his daughter, who had just finished writing. Phantom examined the small task he had given her and smirked.

"My, all answers are right. Are you sure you haven't read my mind?"

Dani giggled. "No, Daddy. You're just an awesome teacher."

Danny couldn't resist a smile. Coming from her it meant a lot. She was just too precious. While he ruffled her snowy locks, HK went into the room.

"Report: As you thought, Master, we have received a transmission."

Humming under his nose, Danny pressed the button. The image appeared.

"I didn't expect a call to be so soon, Consul," Phantom commented.

"Skip the pleasantries, Phantom! I know it's you behind this!"

"Behind what?" Danny asked innocently, raising his eyebrow.

"You have sent these merks to raid us, don't make a fool out of me. It's awfully convenient for you."

"And I'm sure that as a leader speaking to his colleague you have proofs," Phantom responded with a fake confidence.

"Such coincidences are not possible."

"Really? That's it? Why do you even call? If it is to shout at me then I can simply end the call."

"We...we need assistance," Consul looked like very words he said harmed him a lot.

"You have a strange manner of asking. You are lucky that I don't care a bit about your insults. We will be there as soon as we can."

When the transmission was over, HK burst into metallic laughter.

Meanwhile Zakuul was being pillaged by all kinds of mercenaries. They were in their heaven. So much aurodium, blood and tears. But that concerned the land forces. Slaughtering the guards of the city, they kept advancing. In the orbit the remnants of the defense fleet were trying to fight off the invaders. The Hutts' fleet wasn't that advanced or powerful, but there were many of them, enough to slowly overpower the enemy. The flagship of their forces was as big as Republican Venator-class.

In the bridge the mercenaries were operating and directing the forces, showing the discipline of the military. Instead of the captain's seat was a huge sofa for a Hutt owning the vessel. He was completely non phased by the ongoing battle, calmly smoking from the tube full of the green liquid most of his race preferred.

"How long until we break them?" He asked his assistant in huttese.

"Approximately ten more minutes. If our corvettes get close enough," the human near him said.

"I can already feel that aurodium," the Hutt mumbled in excitement. "The Jahibakti clan will become the richest in the Cartel!"

Suddenly one of the mercenaries ran to them. "Sir! There is an object approaching us!"

"So?" Hutt puffed the smoke out of his wide mouth.

"It's eight miles long, and it's about to come out of hyperspace!"

Just as he said this, the black monstrosity appeared in the gap between the forces. As it was slowing down, the ship rammed the cruiser in front and snapped it in half with no effort. The dreadnaught was like a boot, the corvettes were like ants. The size was about the same coefficient. Phantom crossed his hands while being on the bridge.

"All batteries, fire at will, protect Zakuulan forces!" He commanded. "And send the bombers."

The dark space around became a furious light show, hundreds of turbolasers, laser and ion cannons flew to all directions. They hit especially hard at the broadsides. Smirking at the caused destruction, Phantom turned around and went to the holographic table. His observation was cut short, however, when he saw that the enemy was trying to get away. They were on dangerous distance from the planet, they could jump away any second.

"It's time to test our newest addition. Activate the gravity well!"

No one was going to get away. Hyperion was perfect for destroying such fleets. Phantom denied the call coming from the enemy.

"Question: You are not going to let them surrender?"

Danny looked back at his daughter, making sure she couldn't hear them.

"I don't need any survivors to tell about my little scheme. No prisoners."

"Query: Have I ever told you how much I admire you, Master?"

It didn't take long until the fleet was taken down and utterly destroyed. Phantom hummed, remembering that some enemy forces were on the surface. But Dani was with him.

"HK, watch over her," he commanded.

"Complaint: Why can't I go down, too?"

"Because I need to come. And I have learnt that duplicates can be useless. Don't you dare to make a step away from her, am I clear?"

HK sadly nodded. Phantom walked to Dani and told her to stay away from the windows. Then Danny ordered the Marine cohort to prepare for landing. Meanwhile he changed into more appropriate clothes. Black plastoid armor plates, covered by white robes, which showed his chest, left his now armored hands visible and were held tight to the body by the white belt. Beneath the pitch black armor was white fiber protection. His armored boots were also white. To finish it all, he put on the Imperial crown.

From the hangers flew several ships in order to land. They had picked the big enough square. The cohort regrouped there in a record time. At his loud command, the soldiers scattered to subdue the bandits. Mercenaries were just that, they relied on strong individuals, but the powerful fist of united force was enough to break them. The Marines were killing the mercenaries one by one, shooting them in the middle of their raid, freeing each house.

Phantom personally led the biggest force, going to another, central square. The main fight was there. Danny made sure that his actions were seen. He was in the vanguard. Phantom used his power to the extent, his soldiers were rarely shooting, getting rid of the sneaky bastards who tried to flank them. Danny threw an ectoblast and blew up the firing spot. Once on the square, Phantom saw that the nerds had pushed the guards to the building.

"Captain, take the safe positions," He ordered. "Then open fire to clean up what remains, don't get to the open areas."

"Yes, Milord," the officer hit his chest as Phantom went forward.

He strolled through the battlefield, swinging his transparent blade, hurling it into the distant shooters only for the sword to return into his white gloved hand. Finally he got to the place he deemed useful for his power, which was about to be unleashed. Taking a deep breath, Phantom let out the destructive wail. As many times before, the destruction was imminent. Sound waves threw the debris and the soldiers around like sacks of potatoes, getting wounds incompatible with life. The Zakuul guards covered their ears, but couldn't because of their helmets. Those who didn't wear them were more lucky.

At last, Phantom stopped. The silence was ringing in everyone's ears. The soldiers were getting rid of the still alive mercenaries. The Emperor approached the Zakuulan guards. He sensed fear in their hearts, but Phantom expected that. He had just demonstrated the power his father couldn't hope to get. And yet again, his light was giving the impression he hoped to get.

"Where is your captain?" He asked.

"He was wounded and brought inside the building...Your Majesty."

Needless to say that calling him by title was assuring for the ghost's plan. Phantom went inside. There were a lot of wounded. Even if the guards were skillful, their reinforcements were too far away to help overpower the superior enemy. Phantom saw the captain sitting against the wall, with his leg being bandaged. The Zakuulan noticed him.

"What are you doing here?"

"The Consul asked for protection, so I came here. Is it so bad?" He nodded towards the wound.

"The nerve endings were burned off," the medical droid said. "This means that it will be permanently disabled."

"Seems like I'm going on pension," the captain grunted.

"Not exactly," Danny said. "I can help."

"How?"

"Watch this," Phantom smirked.

He kneeled near the soldier, the armor making clanging sounds. The captain's leg was surrounded by white ethereal glow, and he felt tingly in that place. But it wasn't painful at all, although he couldn't feel anything at all...wait. The captain blinked, but in that split second Phantom already moved away his hands.

"Try it now."

To his shock, the captain found out that his leg was fully functional again.

"And I can do much more, I assure you," Phantom smirked, before offering his hand.

The captain took it and got up.

The bandits were slaughtered. The Emperor's orders were done without delays. Zakuulan Parliament let him do the judgement and execution. But then he was called to their session. That's what brought Phantom to the place he had already visited.

"Phantom, by the name of the Parliament and Zakuul citizens, I tell you about our gratitude."

The consul didn't like what he was saying, obviously. But there was no denying the will of the deputies.

"No need to thank me," Phantom put a hand over his core. "I took the burden of protector of the Galaxy, and I will fulfill it. These were the Hutts' ships. Their criminal empire on my list of threats to the people. I saw how they suffered. And I wanted to make their lives better by using the power I have inherited and gained. We have intercepted the call, the Hutt Cartel knows about what happened here. They will send more, so I must repeat my proposal."

"The offer still stands, the Empire's protection is free, you will have the entire new market for your goods, and your people will have more things to buy. The trade will flourish, and you will lose absolutely nothing."

And Phantom's plan gave its fruits.


	51. Chapter LI: In a middle of nowhere

"So this is it," Danny mumbled. "The Eternal Throne."

Palaces weren't grand enough for his father. A giant orbital station housed him and the main seat of power of the Eternal Empire, both literally and figuratively. A giant golden and white throne was not only a fancy chair, it was the main control point of the Eternal Fleet, which was basically one huge artificial consciousness. The fleet was destroyed, but the throne kept the symbolic meaning. Phantom wasn't alone in the spherical room. He was accompanied by a group of Zakuulan officials, priests of their religion, and, of course, his daughter along with his bodyguard.

Danny slowly went forward. He slowly traced his armored gloved hand along the golden hands of the seat. A strange feeling filled his stomach. The throne resonated, making a strange pulsating and low ringing sound. He was returning to his roots, as it seemed. Phantom was not going to be like his father. Danny didn't sit, instead he turned to his people.

"I have created this Empire with the purpose of peace and order. This man," he pointed to the throne. "Only craved for power. I have inherited his power, his ambitions, his ruthlessness possibly. But not this hunger. So far I have been ruling over our capital, now, I take Zakuul under my direct governance, but I vow to protect your rights, the Parliament shall remain, for I will need assistance. I must receive the oath that each of my decisions will be obeyed as well."

The Zakuulans bowed in acceptance.

"Now, the Legio shall be stationed here. I hope you treat them as they deserve. But if they step out of line, you have my permission to judge the rowdies in accordance to your laws. I need an unwavering discipline from my soldiers. That is all for now, I am not a fan of fancy ceremonies, so I will just step to my responsibilities without coronation. Not that there is any crown. Your people already know about the change. Send all documents to me."

"Finally, I want to know everything about the Eternal Fleet. Blueprints if possible."

"For that we will have to search in the Old World, Your Majesty, but..."

Phantom raised his eyebrow and urged the man to continue. "It is too dangerous down there, and we don't know where the blueprints can be. If we knew, we would have built enough ships to repel any threat."

"I'll send the group. I wonder if the ghosts agree for a bunch of denaries. We are building up our power, because hopes are on blitzkrieg."

"A what?"

"A quick war, a tactic created during the Second World War. We will overrun our enemy with immense speed, surround them and destroy them one by one. Father used the same tactic when his Empire re-emerged. If not for Revan, the Republic would have been totally wiped out. I don't see why we can't repeat the achievement. This way we will avoid many deaths during the war that is to come."

"You have said that you are neutral!"

"I have and it is truth. But I never said that I'm not going to finish that sick man of the Galaxy. I seek to establish the First Galactic Empire. Because I don't want to be the second in anything. Call it pride, but that's how I am. And the name of the state implies that I need the entirety of space. You are dismissed. Send the message if you need further instructions."

The officials bowed and left. Dani approached her father, who was looking out of the window at the steadily spinning planet. Phantom glanced at the girl, hugging her close with one hand.

"Look at this planet, my girl," he said. "There are millions of people, seeking protection and guidance. Our guidance. And not only it, but hundreds, thousands of worlds. We must show the example, we both have eternal lives, many generations will pass and everyone will look up at us. Once you grow up, they will listen to you just like they listen to me. No matter at which star you look, all that shall belong to us. Your promise still stands, right? It won't be easy to rule over all of this."

Dani nodded and hugged his waist, smiling. "Of course, Daddy."

Phantom had the plans on his daughter. Ahsoka didn't want and couldn't pretend to any titles, so despite the age, Dani was going to inherit many things. Danny planned to split the Galaxy, and thus the Empire the into two administrative parts, East and West, ruled by her and him respectively. And Zakuul was going to be the capital of her part of the Galaxy. And that throne was going to be hers. But that's just a little surprise for her eighteenth birthday. It wasn't independence, Danielle was going to follow the Emperor's orders, but she would have to manage many things.

Danny smiled, before his eyes fell on HK, who was standing by. "Oh, come here, you bolt bucket," he gestured to come closer.

The droid slowly approached. If he had eyebrows, he would have raised them. What he didn't expect was to be pulled in a family hug.

"Error: Close contact. Initiating escape protocol."

Danny was snapped out of his laughter when he heard Dani's stomach grumble. He chuckled.

"Let's fetch something to eat, shall we?"

The girl beamed and nodded. Zakuulans didn't expect their new ruler to just sit and eat casually in a local restaurant, not even the fanciest, because it didn't have the children menu. Everyone around just stared at how they ate and chatted. No one interrupted, for the fear that the Emperor's droid wasn't going to be easy on them. However, the exchange between father and daughter was too sweet, and it caused the citizens to sympathize their ruler more. Phantom pleasantly noted that Dani was following the rules of table etiquette. He wasn't throwing the money down the sewers for tutoring. Heck, she looked more civilized than him. Unlike her father, she was raised as a noble.

Suddenly Danny's communicator beeped. Sighing, he took it out and activated.

"My Lord, we have caught something unusual," the soldier reported after hitting his chest.

"And what would that be?" Phantom asked.

"We have caught the transmission. You better see it personally."

Danny turned off the communicator. "Waiter, check, please."

He soon got to the cockpit of Hyperion. As the marines stood up straight, the ensign approached the monarch.

"My Lord," He bowed.

"Report, ensign."

"As you know, thanks to our agent, we are intercepting the transmissions going in and out of their temple. We wouldn't have payed much attention otherwise, but...we have all transmission codes ever used by the Republic or even the old Sith Empire."

"Get to the point, please."

"The codes used during this transmission...they are at the very least two thousand years old."

Phantom froze. "Now that's strange. What was in that transmission?"

"It was a distress call. Judging from the coordinates," the image of the Galaxy appeared on top of the table. "Its source is located in the North. Farther than even Imperial territories, I'm not even talking about the Protectorate. Uncolonized Space."

"I'll use the shuttle. Hyperion will be too noticeable."

"Are you going to just go there unprepared?"

"I think it should be obvious by now. Order to refuel the shuttle, I'm leaving. Hyperion must be stationed here."

Danny and his small bunch departed soon enough, despite the girl's complaints about being tired. She could sleep in the shuttle, it was more than comfortable. While the ship was moving through the hyperspace, Phantom was thinking. Two thousand years...it could be a trap. Danny was known to jump into every interesting occasion. It took two days to get to the place. In the ship there was enough nice food to sustain for a week, so they didn't feel any need. The Imperial systems near were put on high alert. The Republic was going to send the ships there, so no one should have been left alive in case they found something out.

Darkness. Only darkness was around. There weren't any planets, the coordinates told that it was completely empty, it was a void between the systems. Danny was sitting on the pilot's chair, while HK was behind and Dani was spinning on hers.

"Just perfect. There is nothing here," Phantom deadpanned.

"Maybe we missed?" The girl asked, still spinning.

"No, those are the exact coordinates...wait," he whistled. "We are in some deep...trouble," Danny corrected himself because he was near a child.

The communicator beeped.

"Should have turned on the cloaking device," he muttered, before accepting the call.

There was a clone trooper, and, as they were all clones of Jango Fett, he looked exactly the same, but bald. The soldier seemed to recognize who that was.

"What brings the famed general all the way here?" He asked.

"The same thing as you, buddy. Or should I say your Jedi commander?"

"This doesn't concern you...actually, we are really lucky. Surrender, General, or we will open fire."

"No, thanks. I don't want to ruin your prison's reputation by escaping it at the same day. Better tell me why Skywalker isn't the one responding?"

"We aren't going to tell you."

"So you are either forbidden to tell as your boss searches what I came here for, or you have lost contact and try not to look weak."

"How do you...you are the one jamming our systems?!"

"Nope. I can hear you because you are about to ram me from behind. And it seems that you took the bait and answered my question."

The clone seemed annoyed. HK was amused by his Master's response. Dani giggled on her seat.

"Your reaction tells me that the second possibility is real. Where and when have you lost contact?"

The clone sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Might as well either help or die in the process. The coordinates can imply a large distance, we may don't see any planet. I'll give you the exact point. General Skywalker will later decide what to do."

"Thanks."

They set off in that direction. Now there wasn't anything at all around them.

"Booored!" Dani complained.

"Me, too, sweetie, but there is still nothing around here."

"Sarcasm: Then what is this?"

They looked forward, and there was a strange, omnious looking object. Dark structure consisting of two pyramids put together, with crimson patterns all around, floating in a middle of nowhere. It didn't react to their presence in any way.

"I don't see the door," Danny commented, as seemingly non caring as always. "Guess we will have to go through..."

"You can do that?" Dani asked.

"Not without help," Phantom winked. "Grab that railing over there," he pointed towards it. "And try to spread intangibility."

As the girl grabbed it, wiggling with excitement, she did as she was told. Danny added the effort and the ship was ready to go through. But it didn't. Phantom barely managed to avoid smashing into it, grabbing the wheel the second the sparks flew from the place of impact. His eyes widened.

"Sarcasm: Now that was a scratch. Guess we won't be having an extra corvette in order to repair it."

"Now this is WEIRD you want to say," Danny responded. "Not to mention unusual."

"Did I do something wrong?" Dani asked.

Phantom patted her on the head. "No, princess, you did nicely. But I wonder..."

He got up from his seat, before phasing through the hull. He flew to the surface of the strange structure, tracing his hand along the pattern. It must have been a headache making them, the structure was about five kilometers long in each direction. But he felt something radiating from it. No material world material could keep anyone from phasing through. Raising his eyebrow, Phantom took out his lightsaber and tried to cut through. Bright green light shone through the hole made by his blade.

"No way," he whispered into nothingness.

Just to check his assumption, Danny reached there with his hand, instantly regretting this as the green electricity zapped his hand. He yelped, but in space no one can hear you scream. The look of realization crossed his features, along with a shock at the situation they were in.

"Freaking ectoranium?! Are you serious?" He complained.

The component was indeed strange. It was painful to the ghosts to touch it, and metals made with its usage were impossible for the ghosts to phase through. The walls of his prison in GIW facility were made from such metal. Danny now faced a complicated problem, how was he supposed to get through? He would think about the weirdness of the ectoranium made ship later, but his natural curiousity needed to be satisfied.

He got back on the chromium covered shuttle. Deep in thought, he sat on a chair, with a hand on his chin.

"Snarky comment: We aren't getting in any time soon, I presume?"

"I'm thinking."

"Maybe you can teleport us inside?" Dani offered tilting her head.

Phantom facepalmed, before shaking his head and chuckling. "Ancients, I'm raising smarty pants."

The girl beamed at the praise.

"Wariness: Are you sure we are not going to bump into something? Or appear in someone's stomach? The latter will be most preferable, actually, but the other can lead to our imminent deaths."

"That's why we will use the portal," Danny snapped his fingers and the fabric of space twisted into vortex. "We will GENTLY fly forward and hope that we won't hit anything."

They moved slowly, and entered the portal. On the other end, there was a surface. It was as if there was a planet within the structure. The borders couldn't be even seen, it was like they indeed flew above the usual planet. And the weather was quite stormy. Lightings flashed around and the sky was filled with storm clouds.

"Charming. Should have watched forecast or made sacrifice to Zeus. Don't know what's less reliable," Danny said in his usual fit of sarcasm, before looking out of the window. "I can't find a proper place to land. And the scanners are going wild."

Dani looked at the scanner screen. She tapped on it, the screen flickered even more. Older Phantom wasn't watching, so she just slowly moved away as if nothing happened with an innocent expression. They spend a while trying to find shelter, but with no effort. Danny flew barely above the weird trees.

Suddenly the ship shook. The metallic rumble coming from the roof signaled that it wasn't a simple lighting. The screech told that it was something more than a projectile. A gust of air coming from both Phantoms' mouths meant that it was an all too known spectral entity. Danny leaped on his feet.

"HK, stay with her and pilot the ship!" He ordered, before flying through the ceiling.

Thanks to the ship flying on a tolerable speed, Danny was able to stand on its roof. In front of him he saw a gargoyle like creature. It was 4.79 meters tall and had a wingspan of something about 11 meters, with black, gray and white skin and glowing red eyes. It was trying to damage the hull.

"Hey, lizard, this shuttle is worth more than ten of you!" Danny called, before turning on his lightsaber. The raindrops falling on it turned into gas immediately because of immense temperature.

Although it seemed surprised for a moment, the gargoyle roared and lunged forward. Phantom swiftly ducked away, the ship's length of eighty meters granted enough space for the fight. In the process he swung the weapon, leaving a slight scratch on the creature. It screeched, turning around to face him. Then the gargoyle leaped in the air, swinging its wings. After that, it bolted downwards, right at him.

Phantom's hand glowed with red, before he unleashed his ghostly power at the being. The power of the impact forced the gargoyle to fly away. Danny smirked, seeing as the creature was in two minds about attacking again. Another stimulus was a turret, which emerged from the roof, before shooting with laser fire at the creature, narrowly missing it. Phantom blinked, back in the cockpit, Dani was looking through the screens, turning the cannon around.

"So, how did I do?" She asked the droid.

"Comment: You could hit it at least once."

"But I just wanted to scare it!" Dani pouted.

The gargoyle finally flew away, disappearing between the clouds. Danny approached the place where it had previously left damage. It was a real mess, and since the shuttle was very delicate inside, some of the functions may not be available anymore. He wasn't an expert in repairing the ships. Hopefully they weren't going to fall.

Speaking of unfortunate landings, this one was rather nasty and shaky, but no damage was done, except for a few more scratches. As they were done, Danny ran a hand through his hair.

"Another happy landing," he said.

"So, what's the plan?" Dani asked.

"I don't know...Skywalker should be here, and since your sister is always near him, I think Ahsoka is here as well."

The girl's expression brightened.

"But do you remember how you should act?"

"Like we don't know each other."

"Exactly. Now, first we have to find them. It shouldn't be so hard, I mean, this world, ship, whatever it is, it can't be too big."

"Statement: That vapor coming from your mouth. It means that this place is inhabited by ghosts."

"Yes...first ectoranium, now this gargoyle thing...Now when I think of it, not only I sense a huge spectral activity, this place is also extremely strong in the Force. I've never felt anything like it."

"I don't like it..." Dani mumbled.

"This is how the untamed Dark side feels, Danielle," Phantom mumbled gravely. "This day just keeps getting better. Let's wait for some time, maybe the storm calms down. If not, we'll set off."

So they waited. Holonet didn't reach there, the small family resorted to the books. Of course, those were paper ones, because Danny was rather old fashioned. There was a really grumpy librarian in the Ghost Zone, but he was willing to give access to his vast archive, which consisted copies of tons of works of authors all across the Galaxy. So, Danny actively used them for his own use or entertainment. Dani just read fairytales of different races, she really liked them.

Sitting on her father's lap, the girl held the book with pages yellow from their age. Bless ghost powers, she could understand what's written there. Older Phantom just sat on the sofa, signing the documents he had received before coming there. The girl suddenly lied on his chest for comfort, making it more complicated for him to do his work. Danny sighed, before lifting his datapad and stylus using the Force. He just looked to the side, signing the agreements and decrees with the power of his thoughts.

Then Danny caught a faint noise, like something was drumming the hull, stronger than the rain. He thought that the rain was just getting heavier, but then HK came into the living room.

"Report: Master, there are two people outside. Can't make out who exactly."

"Open the entrance, then. Dani, let me get up, please."

The girl floated slightly and landed on the ground with a soft thud. She then followed Phantom to the door, and the platform went down. Two people went inside, two quite familiar Jedi.

"Of all people, Ben," Danny smirked, leaning against the wall.

"You seem be stalking me," the Jedi sighed, soaking with water. "Mind sharing the roof?"

Danny shrugged. "Asking the evil Sith Lord, huh?" He teased. "Come in, but first," Phantom winked at Dani, and she understood what he meant and grinned.

The girl looked at Ahsoka, exchanging a few playful glances. Both Dani and her father touched the visitors and second later a short stream of water fell on the ground. Obi-Wan was surprised, but then Phantom spoke.

"I don't want you to make everything dirty," he explained as if it cleared everything.

Then they went inside. Since the Jedi Master was walking near the older ghost in front of the girls, the children gave each other a quick hug.

"Hey, sis," Ahsoka whispered, ruffling the little girl's hair.

"Who is she?" Obi-Wan asked, glancing behind briefly as they sat in the living room. Phantom had told the children to leave them alone, so the girls went into the room.

Danny understood what he meant. "This is Danielle, my daughter."

The Jedi looked stunned. "Is her mother..."

"Yes," Danny's expression saddened. He looked at the gray metal floor. "It was Komand. This ship was a present to her, actually. Pretty, isn't it?" He asked in the same downfallen voice.

"Well, the girl did take after her father," Obi-Wan said, trying to move the conversation away from the painful topic. "How old is she?"

"Eight. She is the sweetest and the most precious little thing in the Galaxy," Danny smiled softly.

"And you just let her go with Ahsoka?"

"She is a nice girl, I have met her once she sneaked out with Amidala to Raxus. I'm sure the kids will find a common language, Dani is a smart girl. We managed to get inside only thanks to her."

The Jedi perked up. "So you know how to get out of here?"

"You obviously know something I don't. Such a rare occasion," Phantom crossed his hands.

"This planet is strange," Obi-Wan stroked his short auburn beard. "The night here began in a few seconds. And every plant then died. Its inhabitants, however...are really odd. Glowing, have echoing voices...wait a second."

The Jedi sized the ghost, taking notice of his glowing form and previously heard echoing voice. His blue eyes widened, just as Phantom's neon ones.

"You are one of THEM?!" Obi-Wan jumped from his seat.

"Better clarify WHO," Danny said dryly.

"Those...beings. One of them turned off our lightsabers, then he just vanished."

"Huh...well, I can't turn them off. I never tried, actually...But your suspicions are understandable, I myself think as such."

"Really?"

Danny nodded. "This thing is made from the component found only in my homeworld. Also, I have a certain...sense for my kin. We just got attacked by one. A giant gargoyle."

Obi-Wan looked confused. "You don't look like gargoyle."

"Damn, how to tell this...our biome is very unusual. We don't separate animals from us, sentient beings, because our inners are completely the same, starting from birds, ending with mollusks. I know it is strange, but that's how it is done. I'm partially doing my researches, because, believe it or not, there weren't any scientists who went into this topic deeply enough. Well...one time it was maybe too deep..."

He unconsciously reached for his chest, which didn't go unnoticed by the Jedi.

"Anyways, I know Skywalker is here," Danny said. "Why is he not with you?"

"We got separated. One of these...how do you call yourselves?"

"Ghosts."

"Yes, she led us through the road, but an avalanche separated us. Me and Ahsoka went back, but our ship was gone. After that we needed to find a shelter."

"And you found us."

"Yeah, by the way, how did you find the way here?"

"My spies in the Republic work like clockwork...Well, maybe better. I caught this transmission at the same time."

"And you are just telling me this?"

"I thought it was obvious," Danny shrugged. "We are at war, Obi-Wan, no matter how good our relationship can be."

"I guess. Well, we aren't on the battlefield now. I hope you can help us find Anakin."

Danny smiled. "Of course, pal."


	52. Chapter LII: The Ones

"Oof, Dani, too tight!" Ahsoka gasped through the tightest hug she had ever received.

"No, not gonna let go," Dani said, burying her head in her older sister's chest. "I missed you so much, sis!"

"I missed you too, but please, I need to breath!"

Finally the smaller girl released the Togruta teen. Both of them grinned, before Ahsoka suddenly used the Force and launched her foster sister to the bed. Dani squealed in delight and laughed. The teen flopped on a bed near her.

"How are you doing, kiddo?" Ahsoka asked.

"Well, Daddy really spends a lot of time with me," Dani sat on her knees. "We had so much fun!" She said happily.

"Oh, really?" The teen asked, a bit gloomy. But the younger girl was more observant than you give her credit for.

"Hey, what's wrong, sis?"

"It's just...well...I was bored at that temple. It felt as if I'm locked up except for the times I go to the battlefield."

"But you are doing your job, right? Daddy said you are doing it really good!" Dani asked with all her naivety in the voice.

Ahsoka chuckled. "I'm glad you two appreciate it. Still..."

"Still..." They heard a voice.

The girls looked to the entrance, and saw Danny leaning against the doorway. He never actually bothered to knock. Smiling broadly, the Emperor opened his arms, waiting for a hug. He received it quite quickly, chuckling afterwards.

"Where is Master Obi-Wan?" Ahsoka asked.

"I let him sleep in a guest room. I think you should have rest as well."

The teen seemed saddened by this. "I...I actually hoped to spend more time together," she said with a crestfallen expression.

"I understand, kiddo. And we will, but..."

"But what?" Ahsoka interrupted, it sounded more like a snap, before realizing what she had just done. She waited for something to happen, because she didn't know the outcome of such precedent.

Danny sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Dani, can you leave us for a second?"

The girl seemed confused. "Why, Daddy?"

"Just do it, please. Fetch some snack as well, hm?"

"Oh, okay."

The girl got up and went out of the room. Danny sat near his adopted daughter, trying to find proper words.

"What's bothering you, kiddo?" He asked. "I can clearly see that it isn't just boredom which made you angry."

"Father. Do you realize how hard it was after Mom died?"

Whatever Danny expected, he was caught by surprise. Thankfully Ahsoka continued.

"I felt so much pain, and you were nowhere near. I was so alone. You could at least call, but you didn't!"

"Ahsoka..."

"I was free almost all the time. You couldn't not know that. No one was watching me. I waited, but you never called."

"Ahsoka. I couldn't do so for other reasons. For a multitude of them. If I went into the temple, I would have been noticed. And such things...they are not discussed over communicator. I hope you understand."

The girl looked away. Danny put a hand on her shoulder.

"I promise, my girl. Once all of this is over and your espionage won't be required, we will enjoy the time together. After all, I myself sacrifice this time to rule the Empire. And it doesn't make me eager whatsoever."

"How long do we have to wait?"

"Months. Maybe a few more years. I care about lives of our soldiers. I need the Republic to waste all its potential before striking. I give it one or two years before it will be ready to finally collapse. Many planets would want to forget the loans Coruscant has taken and thus put the burden on their shoulders. Greedy interests, but I can use them nonetheless."

Danny sighed. "I want this war to be over as much as you do, dear. But we are too deep in it for the conflict to stop. I'm sorry that it might have seemed like I was ignoring you. I don't want you to think that I have sent you away just so you would stay out of my sight. No, of course. But look here, I managed to find you and your buddies only because you had been my agent and you put the bug in the temple."

"I still feel bad because of it. How many people I've sent to death this way? I knew what was going to happen, but..."

Danny put his hands on her slim shoulders. "I know it must be hard. I shouldn't have given such job to a child, because I knew it would be a pain to bear in the future. Look at it this way, they are also killing people, for that is war. Not only droids fight in it. You, my girl, are nearing its end. You are saving those who would have died otherwise if the war lasted longer. We will compensate for our lost time. But it has to wait."

"I...I understand, Dad. Can I...at least see Mom?"

Phantom understood what she meant. "Certainly. I'll try to get a few minutes. I know how the solitude feels, and since you are so troubled by it...I'll take the chances."

Ahsoka smiled and hugged her father, a small tear coming out. "Thank you, you are the best, father."

"I'm glad you think so," Danny hugged her in response and smiled.

"Yay!" Dani suddenly emerged from nowhere and joined the hug. "Everything is alright!" The small girl said happily, making everyone laugh.

Phantom got up. "Well, I think that it's time to go to sleep."

"Aw," Dani said sadly. "Can we eat the chips first?" She asked, showing the bag.

"Fine, but go to sleep afterwards," Phantom sighed dramatically. "Tomorrow we will have to search for Skywalker. Hopefully he is alright out there."

He spent the rest of the night in thought, accompanied by his loyal servant, who was working at the vacant workshop with his weapon. Neither of them needed sleep, after all.

Those were ghosts...it was indeed strange to see them outside of the Ghost Zone, much more on the spaceship in a middle of nowhere. He never heard of the undead who managed to master space technologies. Yet again, why did they need them? When there is no need, people rarely created something. He decided to go scout around, despite the rain pouring down heavily. He just became intangible and the rain drops fell through him.

It was hard to see anything on the distance, the darkness was still astonishing. But he somehow managed to grope to the cavern. It was lit by the numerous blue crystals. There was nothing interesting in the cave, only rocks. Danny sighed and sat on the nearest one. He couldn't stay there for a long time. But as he got back on his feet, the stark haired man heard a voice, which made him freeze on his place.

"Going somewhere?"

He spun around in a speed unimaginable to normal being.

"That's impossible," Danny muttered. "I-I saw you being burned!"

"Death is such a fickle thing, you of all people should know it, dear," Komand said, smiling and tilting her head.

She looked just like at that day. The same short haircut, the same smooth red robes. But something felt...off.

"But..."

"Shush, ghost boy," she waved her hand and slowly approached him. "I missed you, Danny."

"I...I missed you too, but...how?" Danny asked, still not able to comprehend what was going on.

"Is this so important? I'm here, and you are, too, love."

Now Danny's daze and initial shock started to evaporate. Suspicion came on their place. She was avoiding the question. The time when he was easily charmed to be a babbling fool was long gone. No matter how he loved the woman in front of him, he couldn't let his guard down, because the entire situation was too strange for his liking.

"And what are you doing here of all places?" He asked.

"If only I knew myself," she shrugged. "But I can ask you the same question."

"I have intercepted the transmission. I thought it was interesting. And it certainly is," he mumbled in the end, examining her yet again.

"Just as nosy as ever. And what are you going to do now?"

"I planned on finding Skywalker, and now you are here..."

"How is Dani?"

"She is alright. Probably asleep right now on our ship."

"YOU BROUGHT HER HERE?!" She suddenly exclaimed, making even Danny flinch.

"She is safer with me than anywhere," he responded firmly.

"And you still have left her alone," Komand gritted her teeth.

Now Phantom felt guilty. She somehow sensed it. "You should leave this place as soon as possible. Skywalker will make it on his own."

"Are you sure..."

"Yes!" Komand said maybe too loudly.

Danny looked even more suspicious. That behavior wasn't like his fiancée at all. She used to be hot tempered, yes, but it sounded somewhat hysterical. Something was wrong. And suddenly a thought occurred in his mind. Danny looked away in sadness.

"You are an illusion, aren't you?"

"What makes you think so?"

"I'm not going away until I'm done. If you really are the woman I loved, you would have understood that I'm not going to leave."

"You will leave!"

"Is this what I hear from someone who loved me? The one who wanted to marry me? We haven't seen each other for so long, and yet this is what I receive. A demand that I left her alone."

"After I was killed because of you?"

Danny's stomach flipped over, but then he finally came to the realization. "Blaming me? This is something she had never done. You are an imposter and nothing else."

His echoing voice resonated off the cavern, making it seem even louder. 'Komand's' expression darkened. She vanished in the smoke, only confirming his claim. To back off so quickly, it wasn't like her at all.

Danny hated it. Even when he was right, he wished he was wrong. Gritting his teeth, he released a shaky breath. The pain he was trying to subdue so hardly started to resurface once again. If he got his hands on that bastard, whoever it was, Phantom was going to beat that asshole as hard as he could. How dares it take the form of his beloved? He broke the nearest rock, shattering it into pieces.

Danny went out of the cave. The rain seemed to have become stronger. He was deep in thoughts as he walked to his ship. As he got to the main room, Phantom fell on the sofa, laying on his back and staring at the ceiling. He didn't know how much time he spent like this, he tried to forget that encounter. Once HK approached his Master and inquired what was wrong, Danny's response was short.

"Leave me, tin can, I'm in sadness," the ghost responded gloomily.

HK walked off.

By the morning it felt better. Danny, knowing it was the time his children usually woke up at, decided to make breakfast. He was an Emperor, but it didn't mean that he'd never touch the pan, he did it before. It allowed to wonder off his mind, stretch his muscles, even if barely, and receive a praise from his daughters. It was the best thing, he concluded long ago. The smell from pancakes filled the room, for there was enough space even for it. That was indeed a luxurious shuttle.

He smiled. Telekinesis allowed him to give certain shapes to the meal, and Danny had a lot of fun with this.

"Morning, Daddy."

Danny flinched and looked down. The little girl was standing near him, wearing blue pajamas with stereotypical white-sheet ghosts on it. This, along with messy hair, her rubbing her eyes with a small fist, made Danny smile in adoration. His baby girl was so cute.

"Good morning, sweetheart. You are early today."

The girl shrugged. "You don't sleep at all, Daddy," she said dryly.

Danny poked her nose with a spoon. "Sassy child."

Dani giggled, and her father smirked down at her. "Now go wash your face. No food until then."

She nodded and went off. Soon he heard footsteps behind.

"Bathroom," Was Phantom's curt greeting, as he knew that Ahsoka obviously had passed the procedure.

"Why?" Obi-Wan's voice sounded behind.

Danny glanced back. "Oh, it's you, Ben, I thought it was my daughter. You walk quiet enough."

The Jedi snorted, sitting at the table. He looked at the stark haired man in amusement. "It's not every day you see a dictator making breakfast."

"Well, normal people eat food, not surrogates you are so keen on consuming," Danny rolled his eyes.

"Fair enough."

"And, you say 'dictator' as if it is something inherently bad. At my world, even the greek word 'tyrant' just meant the man holding all the power. By the terminology of Roman Republic, your Chancellor is a dictator, for he was granted emergency powers."

"Should you turn our every meeting into a lecture?" Ben asked sarcastically.

"Nah, I'm just enlarging your horizon. You learn something every day," Danny gave a disarming smile. The his look turned serious. "I took a look at the machinery, everything is fine so far, we will be able to fly."

"This is good news. Seems like Fury-class didn't suit you two, huh?"

"Well, yeah. This is also Imperial design. Made singularly for some members of the Imperial Intelligence. Quite expensive, but nothing I cannot afford," Danny shrugged, flipping the pancake. "Had to rummage Dromund Kaas, but it was worth it."

"You were on Dromund Kaas?"

"Yep."

"I thought that after the Emperor died it became completely abandoned."

Danny chuckled. If only Ben knew with whom he was talking about.

"Well, not entirely. Some minor Dark side cults live there, but they won't harm you unless you attack. I just taught them a few minor tricks and 'traded' these blueprints. Keepers of knowledge, they are, nothing more."

"You are unbelievable."

"I know. You know what is more unbelievable? The taste of these delicious pieces of dough."

Danny flipped the pancake on the plate and threw it to Obi-Wan, who caught it. Well, the smell was attractive.

"Tea or coffee?" Danny inquired.

"Eh...caf, maybe?"

"We don't do that here, Ben. I tried that bantha's piss before, hoping it was something similar to Terran-Columbian coffee. Almost vomited. Except for caffeine, nothing is similar."

"I'll have tea, then," Obi-Wan sighed.

Danny nodded and turned to the electric kettle. "So, how is the war going?" He asked casually.

"Avoiding the details, I don't know what to think. We have long since abandoned attempts to break through your defenses."

"Say thanks to Thrawn."

"Is it that Pantoran?"

"He is not a Pantoran, he is a Chiss. I have long since forged a tight alliance with his country. He used to be a member of one of the Noble Houses. Before they disowned him for striking first and secretly assisting me. It's a long story. But he is loyal to me and is the most capable Naval commander I have ever seen."

"Ehm...good morning?"

Two adults looked at the entrance and saw Ahsoka and Dani standing there, not sure about what to do.

"Oh, hi, kiddos, come sit now," Phantom gestured towards the gray table.

The girls followed the young man's offer. Dani was the first one, eager to hungrily devour the food. Obi-Wan was curiously looking at the girl, while Ahsoka was a bit on edge, trying to stay vigilant if any question should follow. Danny put the tall stack of pancakes on the table.

"Dig in."

Seeing Ahsoka's discomfort, Danny understood what it was about, so he decided to distract Obi-Wan.

"Returning to our conversation, what do you think the odds are?"

"So far it's a position war, we are barely advancing further," The Jedi said grimly.

"So I have noticed."

"And you, for some reason, aren't attacking."

"Maybe I'm just waiting for something big to happen. Maybe I'm creating an armada which will destroy the Republic, maybe I'm uniting the clans of my race in order to make allies. You don't know it, Ben, but the Republic's days are numbered."

"You have been saying it for almost two years. It still stands. And my loyalty is always with it."

"And Satine Kryze, I assume?"

Obi-Wan froze. His blue eyes peered into the ghost in front of him, trying to read him, but failing.

"How..."

Danny smiled. "The Death Watch worked with Dooku, for whom I have a personal hatred. Don't tell him I said that. I spy over him, and I know about your previous... 'affairs'."

"There was no 'affair'. It was a simple mission."

"Yet, your reaction tells me otherwise," Danny smiled, before looking at his children. "You like the food?"

Ahsoka nodded with a smile. "Yes, they are delicious."

"They aw awsom, Daddy!" Dani said with her mouth full. Phantom laughed.

"Glad you think so. Don't talk with your mouth full, though."

The breakfast went peacefully, with HK coming only once because he needed an oil from a special shelf. He had a reserve there. After everything was done, Danny got to the bridge, followed by everyone else. Phantom got the ship in the air, as they flew through now clean and sunny sky.

"Hm, so, where shall we begin? The place can't be that huge."

"There is what looks like a temple," Ahsoka pointed towards a large pillar on the distance. "Shall we go there?"

"We will be found first, I assure you," Danny mumbled, before everything shook. "Told you," he said as a light blue mist came out of his and his daughter's mouths.

"What is this?" Obi-Wan asked, almost falling after another shake.

"Is it that gargoyle thingy?" Dani inquired as well.

"I don't know what it is, but this time, I am ready," Phantom grinned wickedly. "HK, bring it on!"

If the droid could grin, he certainly would have. "Statement: Prepare for some fried...stone...whatever it is made of."

He pulled the lever. They could see the electricity going wild outside, along with a loud screech. Phantom had freed the damaged wiring and now HK just pushed the charge through the damaged wiring. Chromium cover, along with a layer of ceramic dielectric beneath, served wonderfully for spreading electricity along the surface, but not inside.

"Alright, let's add some speed and land quickly," Phantom commented.

"I'll take the guns," Obi-Wan said.

"If you wish," Danny shrugged, before periscope came down from the ceiling.

The Jedi looked through it, holding his finger above the firing button. He didn't see anything, and Ben commented on it. The second he did it, the image disappeared with a loud screech. The beast tore out the turret. That was another huge sum of credits wasted. Danny sighed.

"HK, take the pilot seat. Guess I'll have to teach that bastard a lesson again!"

Phantom got to the roof, expecting to see the same gargoyle. But the second he got there, Danny found himself beneath clawed bird legs. He saw a griffin above himself, with white and green feathers. It was emitting a bright golden glow.

"Alright, that's new," Danny commented, the strong wind throwing his stark locks around and making his voice sound quieter.

The griffin didn't show any sign of attacking. However, its claws went under the ghost's back. Before Phantom could react, he was yanked and hurled into the air. The ghost quickly steadied himself, as his ship continued to go forward, now without him. Danny wasn't worried about that, his attention was on the creature in front of him. It flew near him, seemingly unsure about what to do now.

"Alright, where is the second?" Danny asked.

The griffin's answer was a screech.

"You know I don't understand you, right?" Phantom deadpanned.

'I think she says to follow.'

Danny froze at hearing a voice in his head. A voice not heard for years. That day was becoming stranger and stranger at the seems.

"Of all times you have decided to appear now," Phantom said dryly.

'Shush, kid, this matter is rather important,' Bogan's voice sounded. 'We haven't bothered you for six years, so you are ought to listen.'

'Just follow this griffin, you will learn soon enough what she means,' Ashla added.

"Well, it's not like I have many options," said Phantom, looking at the creature in front of him, which, in turn, stared at him in what looked like a confusion. He must have looked wacky for talking with himself. "Okay, you want to show me the way or what?"

The griffin screeched and flew off. Danny followed. Strangely enough, they followed to the exact place their group had been going to. However, it was seemingly a side entrance. The temple was huge, surrounded by mountains. Its tower, located atop a high mountain summit, featured a glowing diamond-shaped crystal, suspended above its pinnacle roof. Beautiful white construction, radiating with the Force. As Danny was staring at the construction, standing on the ground, he forgot about the griffin for a moment. He turned to the side, but there was no creature anymore.

There was a woman. She was young at the seems, with a very pale skin. Her beautiful face had green eyes, with black highlights. There was a golden headdress on her teal colored hair. She wore a white dress with golden trimming, with a line of cleavage going from her neck to the belly button. There was the same golden aura around her. Danny blinked at seeing her, but the woman spoke first.

"I never thought we will ever meet ghosts again," she commented in a strange mix of light joy and dignity. Her voice had an echo.

"And I certainly didn't expect such a welcome," Phantom said dryly. "Was it really necessary to break my ship?"

"I apologize. Father told me to bring you alone. Don't worry for your companions' safety. No one is going to harm them. Even my brother isn't going to go against Father's words. He wanted to speak with you."

"Could have just sent a postcard," Danny rolled his eyes. "Well, lead the way, it's not like I have any saying in the matter."

The woman nodded. "Follow me."

They went inside the temple. It looked very regal and old. Phantom payed a special attention to the stained windows. They had two symbols of two sides of the Force intertwined with each other. As they were going through one of the halls, Danny stopped resisting his natural curiosity.

"So, I didn't quite catch your name."

"I am Daughter."

Danny blinked. "Ehm...alriiight. Are you a ghost?"

"This is for Father to tell, not me."

"Let me guess, that's his name, and your brother's name is 'Son'."

"You are quite observant."

Phantom couldn't understand if it was a sarcasm or she was serious. Either way he felt insulted for some reason. Finally they got to the huge hall, with one seat on the opposite end, looking like a throne. They went forward, and there was a person sitting there. His appearance was also unusual. His gray skin was covered in tons of wrinkles, showing his immense age. A long, chest long beard added to the impression. His eyes had ice blue pupils, with whites actually being black, just like the center of the pupils. He was wearing a tall pointy hat, without edges, and a blue-grayish robe.

"Greetings," he said with a ghost of a smile. Note the irony. "I hope that you got here alright?"

"If you don't count scratching the most expensive personal shuttle in the Galaxy."

"We have long since abandoned such primitive ships," Father said nonchalantly. "Why are you using it?"

"Because I want," Danny shrugged. "Why should I even do it?"

"Aren't you one of us?" The being asked.

"I am a ghost, if that's what you are, yes, we are of the same race."

"I thought that none of us is left out there," Father actually smiled. "Even though the mortal name is quite superstitious. Are there more?"

"Eh...yes, the entire dimension. I don't get the point."

"He is obviously unaware about history at all."

They turned to the side and saw yet another ghost. He had a skin as white as paper sheet, with red markings. The man was bald, with his eyes being black, with crimson glowing pupils. He was wearing a black and red suit with high collar. His voice was smooth, with a note of dismissiveness, as if he was wasting his time.

"And it makes me wonder," he continued. "How old are you?"

"Twenty four," Phantom responded calmly. "But it was rather eventful life."

"I see," Father mumbled. "Is everything prepared, Son?"

"Yes," Son said nonchalantly. "I'm more curious about this one rather than in this 'Choosen One'."

"You mean Skywalker?" Danny asked.

"Indeed. But first we must make sure that the trial is accomplished. Now, please, tell us how our race is doing now?"

"Well, it's not for me to judge...I'm doing my best, but it's not exactly the priority."

"We have given the rulership to the observants. How are they doing their job?"

Danny's look darkened. "Terribly. They couldn't even...wait a second...YOU put them in charge?! You...you are the Ancients!"

"Well, if that's how you call us," Daughter commented.

"Oh, goodness," Danny said, before stopping himself from fanboying. "You are the ones who defeated Pariah all those millennia ago!"

"Some of our group died, sadly," Father responded.

"They were weak and annoying," added Son.

"All in all, they were ones of us."

"Heh," Danny smirked. "Well, I haven't properly introduced myself. Daniel James Phantom, first of his name, Lord of the Infinite Realms, Duke of Babylon, Count of Aragon, The Emperor of the Second Infinite Empire, King of Ghosts."

It was the last title which caught the Ancients unaware.

"Explain."

"Oh, my crazy uncle freed Pariah from his sarcophagus. I kicked him back, alone, and thus claimed my pretty crown."

They stared at him.

"This is impossible," Son crossed his hands. "No one can defeat Pariah alone."

"Just because you failed, doesn't mean that no one can," Danny smirked, before showing the green ring on his finger. "What is it, then?"

"I do sense an incredible amount of the Force within you," Father sounded somewhat convinced. "Impressive. More than impressive."

"I guess it's my turn to ask questions," retorted Phantom.

"Of course, but please, keep your questions for later. Please, follow me."

Danny and Father went through the corridor. Phantom felt like his head was going to explode from everything what happened during the last two days. Danny looked at the ancient ghost, who was more than half a meter taller than him.

"Where are the others? I haven't come alone."

"Your daughter is in the place I'm going to show you. Others will take part in the trial Skywalker will participate in. You may observe if you wish...Your Majesty."

"You are accepting the new king just like that? You were the ones who overthrew the last one."

"I sense no ill intent within you. Furthermore, the balance of darkness and light in you is surprising, considering that our teachings have been forgotten. But the 'Infinite Empire' is something else what interests me. Rakatans were the race which served our race, but then revolted. We were forced to hide from their fury, even if their services were in no way bothering. And to call your state like this..."

"It's a temporary name, nothing to worry about."

Father nodded, gesturing for the door. "Please, come in."

The door slid open, and Danny went inside. The building was a temple, so the room had the same level of humility. Suddenly Dani jumped out of nowhere.

"Daddy! Where have you disappeared?! I was worried!" She asked.

Phantom laughed, scooping the girl in his arms. "Nothing to worry about, sweetie," he kissed her forehead.

Father watched the scene with small smile, remembering the time eons ago. He was old, the Galaxy was barely born when he came to exist. Yet the gift of parenthood was the most precious. And it made him sad that he had so little time left.


	53. Chapter LIII: Parenting issues

Danny wondered what kind of a trial they were preparing for Skywalker. Although many things became clearer now, he shouldn't trust even the Ancients so easily, especially the Son. They had already overthrew one king. Nevertheless, Phantom followed Father through the corridor, along with Dani, who was holding his hand. Finally the stark haired ghost ran out of patience as the corridor seemed to be endless.

"Okay, what are you planning to do?" He asked the tall ghost.

"Patience, young one."

"I am patient. I don't like your riddles, and it makes me think that I'm not going to like it."

"It is nothing to be worried about, I assure you. We are here, anyway."

Father slowly moved his hand and the door slid open. Danny saw a huge arena, with open roof, and some kind of yin and yang symbol on the ground. Phantom was impressed at the scene. Then he saw that there was a person at the center, namely Anakin Skywalker. The Jedi stared at him.

"What the hell are you doing here, Phantom?!" He asked loudly.

Danny calmly leaned against the railing. "Same reason as you are, Skywalker. Undeniable curiosity. How does it feel to meet my fellow ghosts?"

"Fellow ghosts? You are of one race?"

"Yep. Let's get this over already, Old Man, the guy will tear his lungs trying to shout something to us."

Father let out a gust of breath, which was supposed to be a laughter.

"The trial is simple, Skywalker."

Two creatures flew from opposite ends, and both of them were familiar to the ghost. The dark gargoyle thing and the griffin. Phantom's deduction simply guessed that if Daughter could turn into griffin, then the gargoyle must have been Son. That guy was going to pay for damaging his ship. Wait, there was something in their arms. Only when they descended Danny was able to understand what, or better who they were holding. And he didn't like it at all.

Daughter was holding Obi-Wan, while Ahsoka was held by Son. Dani gasped quietly near her parent, putting her hands over her mouth. Phantom's neon orbs started to shine brighter as he looked at the scene.

"You must leave the guilt behind. I've ordered my children to kill them both. The question is...who you are going to save: your Master, or your Apprentice?"

"He is going to save neither, because you shall release them," Phantom growled, looking at Father.

He wasn't going to let a single drop of his daughter's blood be spilled. No way in hell.

The Old Man barely spared him a glance.

"They are too powerful, Anakin!" Obi-Wan meanwhile shouted. "Save Ahsoka!"

Anakin seemed conflicted, before clenching his fists.

Phantom's hand glowed with red.

"Let. Them. Go," his voice became more echoing.

Once the man yet again refused to acknowledge his presence, Danny lost his patience and unleashed the blast. It hit the wall. Father appeared on the other end of the stage.

"Dani, dear, come inside please."

"Why?"

"Because you don't want to see me angry."

The girl nodded slowly and went inside. However, she immediately peeked out. Phantom was about to do something they all were probably going to regret, charging another blast. Unexpectedly, it was Skywalker who acted. The young man roared and used the Force to grab both of the siblings holding his friends. The very sky became that of the night, even if mere minutes ago it was the morning. The scene kept everyone captivated. The Jedi slowly pushed both creatures in the air, forcing them to let go both of his Master and Padawan. He wasn't done, however.

It was visible that it cost him a huge effort, but he was managing to throw the siblings around like rag dolls.

"On your knees!" Yelled Anakin, and his voice resonated for some reason.

The ghosts were forced to do just that, they resisted, but had to take their usual anthropomorphic forms. Phantom stared at this, it was shocking to see a human, even a Jedi, do such things. Those were the ones who fought against Pariah. Danny snorted. So they weren't much of a threat, it seemed.

Finally it was over. Anakin stopped, panting on his place.

"Excellent!" Father said, descending to the ground. "You see now? Only the Chosen One could defeat both of my children."

"I'm done playing your games!" Skywalker exclaimed.

Phantom appeared near him. "I second that," he said, crossing his hands.

Anakin couldn't help but jump from surprise. He was confident they were of one race.

"Leave us," he ordered to everyone, including Phantom.

"Who are you to order me around?!" Danny asked.

"The owner of the place you barged in uninvited," responded Father calmly.

Phantom narrowed his eyes. "Wherever you are, I still remain your King. After you had threatened to kill my friends you lost any moral high ground."

"King?" The Jedi, minus Ahsoka, asked.

"Yes," Danny said curtly and unintentionally straightened proudly, while Father stayed silent. "And even if I don't demand the unquestioned obedience, I shall not tolerate such actions."

"Fine," Father sighed. "You two remain as well. No exceptions for others."

The extra audience left, and Phantom caught Ahsoka's whisper to her Master.

"Don't trust him," she said, knowing that Danny was going to hear her as well.

Once they were alone, Father looked at Anakin.

"Now it is obvious that the prophecy is true!"

"Prophecy is a myth," Skywalker crossed his hands.

"I wouldn't dismiss it so soon," Danny put a hand to his chin. "There aren't any proofs to support or disperse this theory."

"The main point is that...I'm dying," Father said grimly. "And once I vanish, there will be no one to watch over my children. They cannot be let outside, because otherwise the balance will be broken."

Phantom stared at him. "Dying?" He asked incredulously. "How can you? We both know that age is irrelevant for us."

"It is?" Anakin asked in shock.

"Yeah!" Dani chirped in. "We can be, like, REALLY old. Like he is."

Sometimes the girl didn't realize how offensive her words sounded. Danny snorted.

"She is right. Our lives are pretty much eternal. That is why I am curious."

Father sighed, while Anakin kept staring at the family. "It is not age what is weakening me. I'm tired of maintaining peace between my children, it requires a lot of power, and if doing it for thousands of years...It was foreseen that Skywalker will be the one to keep them in balance."

"And if I don't want to?"

The Ancient seemed shocked. Danny beat him to response.

"Did you really expect him to abandon everything?" He asked. "Besides, Skywalker is a human. He will live hundred years maximum. What then? You will probably outlive him anyway."

"What do you offer then?" Father inquired, raising his echoing voice and scratching his beard. "The disruption my children are going to cause outside of this planet the second they step out will be terrific!"

"How? They are equal in power, are they not?" Phantom raised his eyebrow.

"Daughter doesn't want to leave me, and I don't think she will leave this place even after I vanish. Son is the one seeking to break out."

"There is something else."

"I'm not saying anything about it."

"You don't sound really convincing, how do you hope to bring Skywalker to do what you want?"

"I'm still here," said Anakin dryly.

"Do you disagree with me?"

The Jedi shook his head. Danny was right, there was no arguing that.

"There is...something I want to protect them from as well. An old being, as terrific as it is powerful...Now, when I think about it this way...she had done the same mistake..." Father whispered, before shaking his head and sighing. "I understand. You may leave, Skywalker, we won't stop you."

Anakin nodded, before looking at Danny. "Are you coming?"

"I think I will stick around for a while. I have a way out."

"Are you sure?"

Anakin appreciated Phantom's effort to help him get out. So he could at least sound thankful.

Danny nodded. "I guess I should ask for permission."

"You have it," Father said in the same bitter tone. "Stay as long as you wish...Your Majesty. Just don't violate the natural set of things."

This was going into the report, Anakin decided. Their enemy was also the King of god knows what. Dictator, King, what now?

"I'll walk you to the ship. By the way...where is my droid?"

"He is shut down aboard of your transport."

Danny sighed, shaking his head. Those guys had long since forgotten the rules of politeness.

The Jedi ship was nice, with its three wings put together above the main part, unfolding once the ship was in the air. While Phantom chatted for a short while with the adults, Dani hugged her big sister and said goodbyes. Ahsoka was sad to leave her family again, she just hoped to see them soon. But she knew Phantom would go through with his promise. He always did.

Danny recovered HK and subdued his will to obliterate all the hosts of the place. The droid then tried to entertain himself by fiddling with his weapon, which was his favorite hobby. And Danny noticed that there were ecto-parts. That in turn meant that the droid was still thirsty for their ectoplasm.

Two Phantoms busied themselves in a library. It was vast, and Danny excitedly indulged himself in the ancient manuscripts. The girl's interests were, as usual, on children tales of different races, some of which were long since extinct. It was an amazing opportunity. Danny was glad his daughter was so interested in reading. An erudite person could make a great ruler. Dani was sitting on a chair near the shining blue crystal, which was the main source of light. Phantom was rummaging through the bookshelf, looking at the rare exemplars.

"Do you require assistance?"

Phantom glanced back and saw Daughter's glowing form.

"No, thanks, I'm just looking," he said calmly, before looking back at the shelf.

The female ghost observed him. He certainly didn't look like someone who could take down Pariah.

"You know, I find it strange that the entire family can Master the Force as good and equally as you did."

"We had more than a million years to reach the peak of skill and ghost evolution."

"Evolution?"

"As the time progresses, ghosts tend to become more powerful. But I've never seen someone evolve so quickly. You may not have our abilities, but your potential is just as high."

"Thanks, I guess," Danny shrugged. "I don't know anything about you. In my part of the Ghost Zone it is a legend about the Ancients. I never thought I'd see one, not to mention three."

"What do you wish to know?"

"Why do you live here? Father almost said something about some woman..."

Her expression became that of horror for a split second, before becoming calm again.

"We don't usually mention this matter..."

"You don't have to tell if you don't want," Danny smiled gently. "Okay...then why are you so centered around one side of the Force, while your Father is not?"

"Foolishness of youth," Daughter said grimly. "We were warned against doing what we did. We were once in balance. On our previous planet there were two extremely powerful sources of each side: the Font of Power and the Pool of Knowledge. We picked different ones, and now we are completely unable to use other side of the Force."

"And why didn't you do both?"

"Father prevented us from doing the worst mistakes in our lives. But the damage was done."

"Where did it all happen?"

"I'm never going to tell you. Maw is there for a reason."

"A Maw?"

Daughter realized her slip. The Maw Cluster, or simply The Maw as it was sometimes called, was an unstable and mostly unnavigable cluster of black holes located near the planet Kessel, in the central East of the Galaxy. The only reason the Maw was visible was due to the ionizing gases being drawn into it.

"Why do you speak about the biggest set of black holes in the Galaxy like if it was something artificial?"

The ghost sighed, understanding that it was pointless now. "Because it is. We put them together in order to put the inescapable barrier."

Danny's eyes were ready to jump out. "You. Can. Move. BLACK HOLES?!"

"Ghosts of the old times were a very advanced civilization. The station used for this is still there. In Corellia system."

"I just found the answer to one of the greatest questions of galactic scientists," said Phantom dryly.

"What is the ghosts' civilization now?" Daughter asked curiously.

"There is almost none. At least I didn't try to expand really far. FarFrozen keep their traditions, even some techs. Most of the people copy different cultures from my home planet. Some stick in Medieval age, some retain the culture of Ancient Greece. I am respected by their leaders, they didn't question my new title."

Daughter hummed. "I have to go now. It was an interesting conversation."

She strolled off, behind the shelves and out of the library. Danny decided to return to his baby girl. Dani was hanging upside down from the crystal, holding the electronic book in her hands. She noticed his presence and grinned.

"Hey, Daddy."

"Long time no see," Phantom said sarcastically with a smirk. "Why are you upside down?"

"No, it's you who walks on the ceiling," The girl said in a know-it-all tone.

"Oh, look at this smart mouth."

Dani giggled, still staying on her unusual place. However she then slipped down and floated on Phantom's eye level.

"When are we going home, Daddy?" The girl inquired, shaking her legs in the air.

"Soon, honey. I think tomorrow will do. It's getting dark actually, how about you go to sleep?"

Phantom carried her out of the room. However, on his way he heard a faint yelling. Dani only stirred on her place. Her father seemed to be in two minds about what to do. Phantom made a duplicate, a weak one, so as to scout the situation and not to weaken the other one, which protected the girl.

Danny ran to the source of the sound. He got to the main hall, but saw only the aftermath. There was Daughter, carrying unconscious Father, along with...

"Obi-Wan?!" Phantom asked in shock as he quickly approached them.

"Daniel. How nice of you to step in," the Jedi responded sarcastically.

"What happened?"

"It is my brother. He...he tried to kill Father. His condition is horrible, but brother isn't strong enough to kill him in one blow."

They set the old ghost on the ground and Daughter kneeled near him, before starting the Light side ritual, attempting to heal her parent. Meanwhile Phantom looked at Obi-Wan.

"Why are YOU here, Ben? I thought you had left."

"We did. But Son had other plans," Ben responded, looking at the unconscious body. "He somehow managed to get inside our ship. He got Ahsoka and we had to return."

Behind him Phantom unintentionally clenched his fist. "He what?"

"Son went to his place, some kind of dark tower. I tried to convince Anakin that we needed help from Father, but he is too hotheaded for his own good."

"So he went there alone," mumbled Phantom. "I'm coming. Join me as soon as you can."

He turned around, but was stopped by the Jedi's call.

"Wait, you cannot just go there! He is a god!"

"It is hardly the first god I'll kill."

"Wait!" Daughter exclaimed, getting up in a smooth motion. "You can't kill him."

"I beg your pardon?"

"He is still my brother. You can't do that."

"Even after he put your father in coma?" Danny gestured at the fallen ghost.

"It's not his fault. It's in his nature, he can't go against it!"

Danny sighed. "I'll do what I must, maybe even leaving him alive. But better hope he doesn't resist much, of what I have doubts.

On his way Phantom was trying to guess what plan that man had. Just killing his jailer wasn't enough, Son needed the means to escape. There were only two transports on the planet. If he came for HK's spot, he would have been nastily surprised. Danny, with his assistance, put a surprise inside his plating in a few hours. Son didn't know that, but even so, Phantom once again understood that he really shouldn't bring his daughter everywhere. Each time he needed to worry about her safety in close proximity. Sighing, the stark haired ghost understood that fact. But taking Dani to her bedroom on Babylon was a matter of several seconds, why didn't he think of it sooner? He had no strong enemies within the Empire. His Palace was guarded by the strongest warriors of the Galaxy.

Danny was fast. He did it all in a blink of an eye. But then he continued his path. The reek of the dark side could be easily spotted. Phantom flew forward, through the night sky, filled with jet black clouds. He spotted the tower on a distance - a huge black gothic structure. Phantom went inside, namely thundered, after opening the wide doors. Empty corridors met him, which led to the only possible conclusion. In towers the main rooms were either on the bottom, or on top. In that case it was the latter, it seemed.

Cursing, Phantom quickly found the staircase, and its end was invisible in shadows. He leaped in the air, and sped up as bullet. The ghost almost hit the ceiling, but his reaction saved him. Danny softly landed on the ground and opened the doors with a fling of his gloved palm. It was a throne room-alike, with a large circular window in the opposite end.

"Ah, Your Majesty," Son's smooth voice sounded from behind the column. Soon he himself came from behind it, sizing him with his crimson eyes. "What do I owe a visit?"

"Let me guess, maybe your attempts to harm my friends?" Danny crossed his hands.

"You show an exceptional will to help them. Is this your obsession, by any chance?" He asked in the same calm tone.

Phantom shrugged. "I don't think that the term of 'friendship' is familiar to you."

"Your desire is to brush off the question, yet you haven't realized yet that I know more than you think."

"Excuse me?"

"I have the power to learn about you. It was hard, however, you are mentally trained, but I managed to find a lot. About your life, about your death, about those you loved and those you have lost. It must be painful to lose them one by one."

"Why are you saying this?" Danny raised his eyebrow, before crossing his hands.

"Indeed, why am I doing it? You seem a little less than incorruptible, and I am a part of the Dark side. It would take quite a while to do just that, not to mention dangerous and wasteful."

"Wasteful, yes. For my time," Phantom spat. "Return my friends at once."

"I think they are quite occupied. Poor girl can't even realize what she is doing...I wonder who will be killed by another first."

"What have you done?!"

"Just a little mind cloud. You may try help, they are outside."

Phantom ran there, but was swatted to the side, not being able to get out of the room. Grunting, he leaped on his legs.

"Should have know that," Danny muttered.

"Yes, you should have."

Son launched red lightings at him, but Phantom dodged and teleported right behind the older ghost. Danny then used the Force to launch his opponent into the wall. Then to the ceiling and to the ground. Finally Son managed to escape the grip by firing more bolts of electricity. Phantom was occupied with maintaining the grip, he had to block the strike with the shield, but lost his concentration to hold him.

"You know, for a bad guy you have an awful fashion designer," Danny smirked, before firing blasts his opponent was trying to dodge.

"Was that supposed to insult me?" Son asked, hurling more lightings.

"No, it was a warning," Phantom deadpanned. "That collar seems threatening only to your neck."

He was attacked again, and again with more red bolts. Phantom suddenly caught the electricity, curling it in one ball in his palm. Son was surprised, but nevertheless prepared to defend himself. Suddenly he felt the cold creeping up his legs. His red eyes darted downwards, and the ghost saw that his feet were frozen and firmly held on the ground. Meanwhile Danny grinned, before unleashing the pent up power. All the electricity was put into one powerful bolt, which was thrown forward. Son, unable to escape, created a shield in front of him, trying to hold the blast back. But it kept moving forward as if he was trying to hold back a train.

"Have a taste of your own medicine!" Yelled Phantom, before adding more power and seeing the energy wall crack.

The entire room was filled with white light, for the collusion of red blasts created an illumination of incredible amounts. Somehow Danny managed to find the perfect timing. The second the shield broke, the ice disappeared, and now nothing was holding Son from being hit and launched back. With a loud crashing sound he fell through the stained window as it broke. Phantom followed, jumping out and slowly floating at what seemed like a courtyard on top of the tower.

Danny suddenly was forced to block the hit of the familiar green lightsabers, by grabbing the blades. He looked to the side and saw his own daughter attacking him. Ahsoka didn't look like herself, her blue eyes were orange and red, with several black lines on her face, as if her very blood became black. It was the sign of Dark Side corruption. His lips thinning, Danny slowly pushed the blades away from his face. She couldn't stand against his strength no matter how hard she tried.

"You shouldn't have done that, girl," he commented.

"Oh, what are you going to do, Daddy? Spank me?" Ahsoka whispered harshly, before using the Force to push him backwards.

Phantom regained his posture, before seeing Anakin running to him.

"We have a trouble," Danny grumbled.

"You think I don't know?" Said Skywalker sarcastically.

"I can help your Padawan, but I need Son distracted. Can you do that?"

The Jedi nodded. "Try not to harm her," he asked, before running off towards the ghost.

"I'm the last one you needed to ask," Danny mumbled, before dodging the strike from Ahsoka.

He then simply dodged one time after another smoothly, without showing a sign of effort. It made the teen even more angry.

"Stop running!" She exclaimed. "Can't harm your sweet little child?"

Anakin was thankfully too far away to hear.

"Yet you are eager to kill me," Phantom narrowed his eyes, still swiftly avoiding the strikes. "You are stronger than that, you know?"

"Pathetic. It is this what makes you weaker, father."

Then Phantom calmly swatted the lightsaber away, before it flew away. Danny grabbed the blade of another one, before pulling it out of her hand. She fell forward and Phantom sidestepped. He fiddled the weapon in his arm calmly.

"Weaker? What does the Dark side make you, then?"

Ahsoka jumped on her feet.

"Snap out of it, kiddo. It's not you who is talking."

She stared at him, obviously thinking he was blind and didn't see the second lightsaber approaching.

"I'm sorry."

She didn't get his words at first, but the teen soon understood what he apologized for, once she was about to strike, Danny grabbed her head in a firm grip. Immediately she felt a huge pain and screamed. Phantom's face was one of remorse at what he was doing. But it had to be done. His hands became intangible as he, quite literally, got into her head. To clean up the foggy mind, one had to blow away the clouds, quite literally. Phantom started to feel nastily, both physically and mentally. He was getting a headache himself.

Ahsoka fell in his retracted arms as her consciousness faded away. Danny gently caught her, checking if everything was alright. He sighed in relief once he saw her steadily breathing and her chest rising and falling.

"What have you done?"

Danny turned to the source and saw Obi-Wan, followed by Daughter.

"Relax, I just fixed the issue, she is alive. But I'll carry her to safety. Go help Anakin."

"I have the means."

The Jedi took a hilt from his belt, which looked like Danny's lightsaber. But instead of transparent energy, a short black metal blade appeared. Phantom raised his eyebrow, getting up while carrying his daughter bridal style.

"Seriously? I use these as toothpicks. Are you sure it's of any use?"

"It should," Daughter said.

With a final nod, Danny carried Ahsoka inside. He gently set her against the wall, checking her temperature and heartbeat. Phantom was worried, because such drastic intrusion was actually rather dangerous. Possession was one thing, but fiddling with mind...be it the real corruption, he wouldn't have been able to do that. He forced the alien things within her mind, which wasn't hard, it felt like if he was pushing it out from himself. But his worries were unneeded, her temperature was steady, just as her heartbeat.

"I'll have none of it!" Son's yell was heard.

Phantom ran outside, and was greeted by the scene that the Dark side ghost was surrounded and severely outnumbered. Danny slowly approached them, and Son's eyes darted to him.

"You...where is the girl?"

"I healed her, did see that coming, huh?"

"How did you do that?" Anakin asked.

"Mind intrusion. Not something I was keen on doing, but it worked."

"A what?"

"We can possess other beings," Daughter explained, not taking her eyes off her brother. "Our family doesn't have this archaic ability anymore, because we have been alone for a long while. There was no need for it anymore."

"Yes, I used it only partially," Phantom added.

The Jedi were concerned that he could actually take the will of other people. But he never actually used it before...or did he?

"Enough!"

They all looked and saw Father standing there, safe and sound. Son now looked really fearful. If he was outnumbered before, now he was simply doomed.

"Your behavior was more than disappointing, Son," the old man approached them. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

"I'm so sick of it!" Son yelled, crimson eyes shining brighter. "You are selfish, more so than even me! I'm sick of sitting here for hundreds, thousands of years! You are nothing more than a jailor."

No one expected such outburst. Not even Father. Sure, the ghost was constantly complaining, but he never actually shouted or accused the man.

"You were going to die anyway. I simply sped up the process," Son muttered, although everyone heard him.

He crossed his hands and looked away, down the tower and the surface, several hundred meters below. "So, what happens now? Am I going to be a criminal in my own home, even if I don't view it as such?"

"Our old home is long gone, child," Father approached him. He put his wrinkly and bony hand on the ghost's shoulder, but Son got out. The Old Man seemed saddened as well, not at all angry at his son's attempt to murder him.

The Jedi didn't trust him at all. Danny was conflicted. The guy was certainly going to be kicked in his balls for harming his daughter, but despite all odds, he didn't seem like the murderous maniac like...he was. Manipulator? Yes. Pragmatic? Yes. Attempt to murder parent? Yes. And it reminded Phantom about one person among their group. Himself. All things considered, Danny couldn't bring himself to hate him.

"Your mind is filled with darkness," Father said. "It was long in control of you, but it didn't make me care for you any less."

Son barked a laugh. "Care?! You locked us down!"

"To protect you, child. You would have destroyed everything, and yourself in the process."

Again, Phantom felt a pang in his chest. God, why was everything so familiar? Dani was too small to realize what Son did. It made Phantom feel really nasty. He suddenly realized a lot. His daughter didn't have any friends to accompany her, only Boba Fett was god knows where. He lost contact long ago. She was kept company only by her family, taught by private tutors, with a little to none contact with the outside world. Danny cursed. He was such a fool, he was slowly ruining her life without knowing it. And she still loved him.

Phantom put a hand over his face and shook his head. He sighed, but then heard the voices again.

'Damn, kid, I haven't seen you so depressed in a while,' Bogan said.

'Oh, look who has arrived,' Danny mumbled mentally. 'What do you need now?'

'We can help this suffering family,' Ashla responded. 'We had such thing since the beginning, actually.'

'I beg your pardon?'

'We can balance these two. If, of course, Your Majesty allows,' Bogan explained. 'Because we will have to leave you. They won't be stronger than you, your knowledge shall stay, but your power will be lower.'

'Wait...you said you had this plan...'

'Well, yes. We can actually see the future,' Ashla clarified. 'These two will actually fit us more, not to sound offensive. You brought us here, you brought us from the dying world, and we are thankful. Your power has grown to the incredible amounts and without us. You will need them in the future. When the Vongs arrive, and when something much worse emerges from the Maw.'

Danny glanced at the feud, while the Jedi just stared at the conflict not sure what to think.

"May I get your attention?" Phantom asked. Everyone turned to him. "I believe I have a solution to your problem."

The group became curious. Obi-Wan didn't notice the blade's hilt slipping down his back.

"What would that be?" Father asked.

"I'd like to discuss it without the Jedi. Sorry guys, those are our, ghostly matters."

"I'm not sure that we should leave our potential enemy alone," Anakin crossed his hands.

"Such good friends you have here," Son said sarcastically.

"For now I'm just helping. Or do you think they're going to immediately serve me?"

"Nowadays I'll believe in everything," Obi-Wan shook his head. "But...fine."

He guessed if Danny was their King, then he would have employed them long ago. It was a false assumption, but it made the Jedi leave. Phantom looked at the family.

"I can fix the damage done all that years ago. Bring back the balance, if you wish."

"How?"

Danny grinned. "Well...let's just say I'm never alone. All I have to do is to bring the light to Son and darkness to Daughter."

"You sound as if it was that simple," Daughter noted.

"It is. A matter of a few minutes, actually. It's...hard to explain the process, but I'm sure about the consequences."

A thoughtful silence settled. Danny patiently waited, this time not noticing the movements.

"While this is good and all, I'm not staying here anymore," Son said.

"NO!" Daughter screamed.

Danny heard a loud gasp and slashing sound. Father had been stabbed in his chest, with the same blade stolen from Obi-Wan. The Old Man took the sticking part in his shaking hands. He didn't look shocked, while Daughter was horrified. She grabbed the man once Son took out the blade. Tears flushed to her eyes, while her brother just stood there, fiddling the blade in his hand.

"Are you happy now, Father?" He asked.

"Are YOU happy?" Daughter exclaimed through her tears. She felt her parent's hand on her cheek.

Son was suddenly engulfed in ice, everywhere but his head. Phantom narrowed his eyes, he was not going anywhere.

"Child," Father said to his daughter in what seemed like the last words. His core was pierced, there was no saving from that. "You knew this day would come."

"I...I didn't want it to come!"

"Yet it is here. I know you won't be able to hate your brother. Neither you two should hate each other," he looked at his son. "You have done mistakes, but I know you are not at fault, even now. I have done them as well, because of my ignorance we are coming through all this."

"No, it's not your..."

"I'm thankful for such words, my dear, but it is a lie. I've tried my best to save you, but I only wasted millions of years you could spend for your joy. I put the Galaxy before you two, but this is not for us to judge. Please, if there is still at least a little piece of care for me, compel my last request."

Son's lip quivered for a moment, before he looked away. It didn't feel at all like he thought it would be. There was no satisfaction. There was a feeling he thought he had forgotten.

"If I'm not staying on this cursed planet."

"It varies. From what our friend thinks."

"Me?" Danny asked.

"Yes," Father turned to him. "Please, Your Majesty, help them return to the balance. Look after them at least sometimes. They may be older than you, but out there you are wiser. And you, my children," he coughed. "Please, listen to his words as if I said them."

"But why do you trust me so much?" Danny asked.

Father gave a faint smile. "I have read your memories. There is no better person, Phantom. It is up for you, my children to decide how to live, even after his help," he then chuckled. "Seems like Skywalker was right. The prophecy was a ruse indeed. And...Daniel...please, don't repeat my mistakes."

The man let out his last breath, his eyes timidly slid down, and his glow vanished. Daughter cried even louder, as Son looked at the scene in sadness, the ice long gone.

Phantom turned away. It happened so suddenly, he thought, taking the cursed sword in his hand. Why everyone had to put the responsibilities on him? He was going to help them, especially in such a hard hour. Possibly, after that their ways should part. But one thing for certain - he was going to follow the advice. His children were the most sacred thing to him, just like to the fallen ghost.

A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others.


	54. Chapter LIV: A bigger fish in the ocean

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Daughter asked.

"I'm pretty confident," Phantom shrugged calmly, looking at the kneeling ghost.

It had been a certain while after the events. The Jedi left Mortis, as the planet was called, leaving the ghosts alone. Father was buried in the tomb, and, surprisingly, Son didn't leave the second he got a chance. He listened to the request to stay until that same ritual Phantom was going to accomplish. That's what brought them in the main hall at the moment. They sat in a circle and were about to do just that.

"I still cannot see how you can do that," Son said dryly.

"Simple. Close your eyes, you two."

They obliged. Danny's right hand glowed, while the other, on the contrary, was completely hidden in shadows.

'You guys ready?' Phantom asked mentally.

'Of course, kid. Time to have real fun.'

'With our powers we shall purge the corruption of any kind. Thank you again for agreeing to this.'

'Don't mention it. I just hope you will do your job well. I expect this deal to be beneficial.'

Then Danny released the power, directing it to the other ghosts. They reacted with surprise, but it wasn't painful at all, if you don't include a slight migraine. The next change was more unusual. Daughter used to emit golden light around her, but it dimmed, becoming a thin line around her silhouette, not brighter than Danny's. Son, on the contrary, gained this light. The whites of his eyes became what the name implied, as they started to look normal. Phantom somehow sensed that the job was done. He retracted his hands and stopped.

"How do you feel, guys?" He asked.

"Weird, to say the least," Daughter rubbed her temples, trying to ease the headache.

"No arguing about that," her brother added. "I haven't felt like this ever since that day."

"Well," Danny clapped his hands. "If you hear voices in your head, don't worry. It's part of the process."

"And...what now?" Daughter asked.

Phantom shrugged. "I'm not your boss. You can go wherever you want, I won't stop you as long as you don't call anyone's attention."

"But we don't know anything about what goes on in the Galaxy."

Danny sighed. He had to answer their questions and telling about the ongoing events.

"Hm...any ideas, sister?" Son looked at her.

"I'm not sure...I think I will simply travel around. If His Majesty can advise anything."

"I'll order someone to make a list. Scarif is one of my favorites - white sand, azure seas all across the planet..." Danny drifted off. "What about you?" He looked at Son.

"I'd like to be closer to the place of events," the white skinned man said.

Danny raised his eyebrow. "And what does that imply? Mere hours ago you tried to kill me. You are yet to earn my trust."

"I understand. I just want to be nearby when something happens."

Phantom got up on his legs and crossed his hands. "Fine. You may watch. But I am departing to Mon Cala."

Son's expression became that of confusion. "Mon Cala? What do you need from that sea products?"

"Yeah, you won't make a nice ambassador. Mon Cala's King was killed," Danny said curtly, putting a hand on his chin. "Found in his room with a dagger in his back. The chaos ensues, their neighbors Quarrens don't want to swear loyalty to Prince Lee-Char. He is a teen. It's complicated when two nations live on one planet. Quarrens are the allies of the Confederacy. Mon Calamari are loyal to the Republic. No one invited me personally, but our representative was sent there. My agents acquired some information on our ambassador. His reputation makes me doubt the success of the entire operation."

"Hm, that's intriguing," Son smirked. "It shall be interesting to watch."

"One more thing."

Phantom approached him and landed one hell of a punch into his face. They both stared at him in surprise.

"What was that for?!" Son exclaimed.

"For almost harming Ahsoka."

Son then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Danny looked at Daughter. "Did he really just teleported there without any preparation?"

"Yes. He did."

Then Phantom returned to the capital. He walked through the corridors of the Palace and slowly entered his little girl's bedroom. She was still sleeping, and Danny almost woke her up after stepping on a toy spaceship. He sat nearby, moving her scattered toys in a box with a flick of his hand. Soon the girl stirred, before opening her emerald eyes. She looked around in confusion.

"Daddy? Why are we here?" Dani asked sleepily.

"Well, I have told you that we will be here on the next day," Phantom smiled, stroking her pearly locks. "I wanted to talk about something."

The girl sat on the bed and tilted her head. "What is it?"

"You see...I've decided that you need to socialize more."

"Does that mean I'm gonna make some friends?" Dani asked.

Phantom chuckled. "Smart girl. Yes. While private tutors can grant you more knowledge, you are alone most of the time. So, I thought that studying in a school should be better."

"Really?" The girl's eyes were shining.

"Yep. I'll pick a proper one, and since the summer ends soon, it is the best time to do that. Maybe once you all grow up, they will be helpful to you. It won't be an elite school, because there the kids would try to befriend you only for influence. Not that in the usual one it won't be like that, but you will have some chances. But remember, sweetie. This is a responsibility. You shouldn't brag about your status as my daughter, you must be humble. And you also mustn't do something what can bring shame to our House, follow the rules and be an exemplary student. Can you do that?"

Dani nodded. "Yes, Daddy, I can!"

"Good for you," Danny smiled, patting her on the head. "Now go wash yourself, kiddo."

Phantom went through with his idea. He found a nice, well sponsored school not very far from the Imperial district. Needless to say that when he visited the principal, the guy was shocked and shaking from the thrill, saying multiple synonyms about how honored he and the school were. Phantom gave all the required documents and ordered them not to be easier on his daughter, treating her equally. Still, there was plenty of time until the school year began.

Danny returned to the politics. The Star Forge was nearing its completion, it could already make free materials from the energy of the star, but not yet able to build starships. It put some minor mining companies under threat, but since they were all state owned, it would be easier to redirect the workforce.

His efforts were also about the upcoming event. The Empire was going to celebrate the seventh anniversary since its creation. Phantom came up with an idea of hosting the Olympics across the state. It was going to solidify unity, at least in theory, unless someone was going to be a sore loser. It was complicated for many reasons, though. It wasn't only about one race. There were hundreds of them, and the natural ability wasn't something to be taken lightly. The competitions should have been fare, so there were different groups.

There was an incredibly long list of groups determined by average strength, agility and speed. It wasn't prepared by the Emperor, for the work was enormous, but he signed the decree. And, of course, the Force users couldn't participate against anyone but their fellows. As for the competing grounds, half of the Galaxy, with the most beautiful planets, was at their disposal. There were many issues to solve, but the Emperor had an assistance of the subordinate officials.

The Republic was achieving several key victories against the Confederacy, since the Protectorate remained defensive, striking only when the situation allowed to surround the enemy and destroy him. The Council was angry at him for not acting. Some, such as the certain Banking Clan boss accused him of treachery. That he acted in his own interests. Well, he wasn't far from the truth. Danny's reputation was that of a true peacemaker. It wasn't something what the trade leaders had in mind while starting the war. His Protectorate was a safe haven for many thousands of refugees. War never reached deeper than its borders. And that people were going to support his ascendance to the throne of the entire Galaxy.

His reputation was going to be solidified on Mon Cala. Danny had a plan of getting them out of the Republic's grasp, while preserving the alliance with the Quarrens. Or maybe even enlarging his influence there. All of that without a single shot, or so he hoped. Otherwise the civil war on the planet would be unavoidable. That's what brought Danny where he was at the moment. Above the endless ocean.

"Query: Are you sure about this, Master?" HK asked over the noise of the engines.

Phantom stretched his muscles, seen through the tight fabric of his jumpsuit. "I don't need to breath and the pressure is of no importance to me. I can also change the frequency of my voice so they would be able to hear me through the water. Their capital is beneath, right?"

"Confirmation: Exactly. Brr. I hate water."

"No wonder," Danny deadpanned.

"Commentary: I don't understand how meatbags live with so much water inside. The splashing it makes inside must be annoying. I don't understand how they live like it."

Danny laughed, saluted to his droid and jumped down the platform, speeding towards the water surface. He became intangible so as not to smash into it and smoothly go under. He went down, using his flight ability under the water, his legs turning into a spectral tail for better agility. The city was big, with multiple sky...or surfacescrapers. Danny took out a device and looked at the map. There should have been meeting at that time.

"Stop right there!" He heard a metallic voice.

Danny spun around and saw a droid. It was stored in a classic droid style with its legs folded in a fetal position against its chest. There was a laser cannon at its hand, and the entire shape allowed the almost three meters tall droid to swim underwater. It was created by the Techno Union, and it was weird that the droid sticked around casually.

"You have broken the curfew. You are under arrest."

"Excuse me?" Danny asked loudly. "Do you realize who you are speaking with?"

"You are not on the list of permitted people."

Suddenly he was pierced from behind by a blade. It floated away, revealing Son, who was behind.

"I think you are a little late for the party," he commented.

"What happened?" Danny asked.

"In short. Prince is hiding, the Quarrens have taken over. That ambassador is not some wimp. Of course, we both can break his spine with a raised eyebrow, but he is far from being unimportant."

Phantom groaned, rubbing his face. "That's what you get for missing the news for TWO damn days."

"Any plans, Your Majesty?" Son asked.

"I'll talk to the Quarrens. See if the situation can be easily solved."

"It certainly wouldn't. At least as long as Tamson sticks around them. I've sensed doubt and guilt within the Quarrens' leader. Use it properly. I'll observe, and hopefully have a nice laugh."

Son became invisible, as Danny flew down. The stark haired ghost had a suspicion that the local palace had a new occupant.

Meanwhile in that same palace, in the throne room, two people were conversing. One of them was Quarren, there weren't many distinctive features, only the same squid like face. The other one was more interesting. He was very tall, and, despite humanoid shape, with two hand and legs, there were also many similarities with Terran sharks. The head alone was an exact copy. The man was two meters tall, with blue and white skin, pitch black eyes and sharp teeth. He was quite muscular, and it could be seen through the costume with a CIS hexagonal insignia.

"I want him found, Ri! The search is going for ages!" Tamson exclaimed.

"We are doing everything we can," the Quarren responded. "The Jedi is with him. There were three of them, you caught two."

"The Padawan is of no importance..."

Suddenly his communicator beeped through the mass of water. Tamson took it in his large webbed hand.

"What is it?!" He snapped.

"Sir, there is an intruder," a droid's low voice sounded. "He is coming to..."

The wheeze from another end meant only that the speaker had been terminated. A few seconds later the droid was hurled through the doors with a thunderous sound. It floated in midair as the intruder stomped in, staying on the ground despite how hard it was underwater.

"This is outrageous!" Phantom yelled. "First I come here and am treated like some kind of criminal, now I'm not allowed to come inside?!"

The aquatic creatures only stared at him in shock. He wasn't wearing anything.

"Lord Phantom, it is...surprising to see you here," Tamson pulled on a smile, which looked even more threatening on his shark-like face.

"Did you think that I would miss such an interesting occasion?"

"We are pleased to see, you, sir, but everything is solved already."

"This is for me to decide. I'm a member of the Council, so you are serving me at the moment."

"What?! I serve Count Dooku!"

"You serve the Confederacy first and utmost," Phantom said sternly, examining his fingers. "Here I am still superior to you."

"This is not how it works, Phantom."

"Really? If you were a commander here, maybe it would have been truth. But you are an ambassador."

Danny called him Cookiecutter. Because there was such kind of sharks, he had read the stuff to his daughter and they had a good laugh. Cookiecutter growled in realization. Yes, on documents he was not a commander at the moment. It did put him in the lower position. The man grunted.

"What do you need?" Tamson asked.

"To talk with Nossor Ri, of course. Privately."

Cookiecutter was forced to leave, muttering something inaudible. He was definitely going to talk with Dooku, Danny knew that, so he had to be quick. Phantom heard a shark-like roar behind the door, the guy was angry. The old Quarren approached the ghost, still ogling.

"Sir, may I first ask a question?"

"Of course," Phantom let a charming smile. "Just be quick."

"How can you be so calm underwater?"

"Do you know what happened on Coruscant? I thought the mess made it clear that I'm more than a human," Danny said.

"I guess you are right..."

Phantom sensed fear. Sighing and letting some bubbles, he continued.

"How did it come to this?" The ghost asked, gesturing around. "I thought that you were just vowing for independence of your people, not overthrowing the prince."

"The situation escalated quickly," Ri said with a deep note of sadness. "We have difficult relationship with the Mon Calamari, but we always respected each other. Lord Phantom, is there any chance you can talk to the Council about our matters? I heard that you actually listen..."

Danny grinned internally. Wonderful perks of having a positive reputation. He nodded slowly.

"I don't understand why Dooku wants Lee-Char to die. He has no army!"

Phantom put a hand on his chin. "Simple. He is the only heir. From my experience, you shouldn't underestimate the prince. I became a ruler of my home planet when I was nineteen. As long as Lee-Char lives, so does his people's hope."

"But..."

"You were on a good terms with his father. That much I do know."

Phantom put a hand on his shoulder. "I understand your concern. But Dooku is the last person to ask."

"Why?"

"Tamson is his lapdog. He will bring an army, more than a simple garrison. You want the Quarrens to rule the planet which is righteously yours, but Dooku doesn't need you."

"What are you talking about? You both are in the Confederacy!"

"Yes, but Dooku's hunger for power makes everything complicated. You make our ships, and our intrigues are of no importance, probably."

"What do you offer?"

Danny smiled. "Protection. I have managed to convince the Council to allow me accept planets into my own autonomous sector as long as the planets do it willingly and don't belong to any corporation."

It was extremely hard. Each step of the Emperor in disguise was taken with worry, and convincing the Council was complicated. But bless the Intelligence, he knew quite a lot of painful spots, such as their profits. Phantom even got a special commission prepare the report about how miserable their losses would be. In exchange he gave assurance about purchasing more droids. Gunray was greedy bastard, he accepted the deal. San Hill, for example, was against it, but his vote meant little, because Phantom wasn't at all dependent on his money.

The Empire did sponsor the Protectorate. It caused many unrests from the opposition to the High Council. The state was gaining little from that vast lands, because the Imperials weren't yet allowed to make business there. It was one huge matter of money draining, except for a few sectors. No one opposed the Emperor, however. Because of the public's love, going against the ruler was a political suicide.

"I'm not sure about this," said Ri slowly.

"I understand your worries. But maybe you will reconsider later. All I need is one word. You will realize that Dooku doesn't know a thing about diplomacy. He acts only by force alone. May I stay here for a while?"

"Of course, sir...there are plenty of rooms, just take one. The palace is empty now, anyway. I'll put you in the droids' database."

Danny nodded and walked off. He was confident that the situation was going to play into his hand. Dooku always acted like a thug. From time to time, each time he ever did anything it resulted in a bloodshed. Phantom couldn't understand why someone like Mina could ever support that bastard. Dooku was probably going to kill her for pressing peace negotiations. Phantom's best agents were tasked with protecting her family. Two assassins had been killed already.

The ghost knew that Count would give Cookiecutter the order to act as a general. But that was going to only play in his hands.

As Danny was moving through the corridor, he felt someone tap him on shoulder.

"Yes?" He looked at Son, sensing his presence beforehand.

"I've found something that might interest you."

"Are you sure you don't want to work in the Intelligence?" Danny deadpanned, crossing his hands.

"No, you just had a luck of me being intrigued as well. Take a wild guess who have I found in the dungeon?"

"Oh, god please no."

"Yes. It's them."

"WHY?!" Phantom exclaimed louder than he had intended. "It's like the Jedi don't have anyone else to do their f*king job!"

Son chuckled. "I'm off now. I want to watch Tamson's tantrums."

As he disappeared Danny felt the urge to punch something. Poor wall had it coming. He would have to save his friends for god knows what time. A little voice in his head told Phantom to let it go and mind his own business, but the suspicion of his daughter's involvement overweighted other options.

"No rest for the wicked," he muttered. "I'm going to kill the entire Jedi Council," Danny cursed.

Despite his threat, he understood the reasons. Missions led by Obi-Wan or/and Skywalker usually ended up being successful. It was only logical to send them over and over to solve the problems. Still, it's like the other Jedi were completely useless.

It took him a while to find the place. The droids now recognized him and let the man through to the tall, but far from being wide, room. It was a strange sight, but Danny realized that there were four prisoners. There were two Jedi, one of them being Skywalker and another green-skinned one, with dreads-like headtails with gills at the two of them. His eyes were pupiless and pitch black, and he, unlike two humans, didn't wear any costumes to remain underwater. The same could be said about the Gungan, Danny remembered that amphibian during the invasion of Ryloth. There was also Senator Amidala. And everyone turned to the guest.

"Leave us," Phantom ordered to the droids, who swam out of the room. Once they were alone, Danny sighed.

"Flames, you just won't stop interfering, Skywalker," he cursed loudly. "Who is your friend?"

"Kit Fisto, the Jedi Master, currently in prison," the man pointed at the electric eels surrounding them. "How do you..."

"Bah, I don't have lungs, anyway. Senator," Phantom bowed theatrically to her, before noticing some green goo covering half of her helmet. "What's that?"

"Ugh, Tamson bit a hole in the helmet. Jar-Jar closed it with his saliva."

"Misa eager to help," Jar-Jar said proudly.

"Where are your inseparable teammates?" Phantom asked Anakin.

"Obi-Wan is not here. Ahsoka is..."

"Skywalker!" Fisto interrupted him. "He is our enemy!"

"Master Fisto, the Separatists already know Ahsoka is with Lee-Char," Anakin shrugged.

Phantom cursed quietly. Now he had to search for someone who couldn't be found.

Danny shook his head. "You know, Skywalker, you can become a Master of getting caught," he said with amusement. "Know this. I can't let you out. Not this time, when my life is not at cost as well. It will mean going against Dooku's orders."

Anakin noticed a slight move of the ghost's eye. He glanced there as well. There was a camera.

"I was simply curious about who was here. We shall see how the situation develops. Maybe it will end with sunshine and rainbows. It's not like any of these can happen down here...you get my point. We may be enemies, but I'm not interested in killing you. And I hope your Padawan will be fine, I didn't save her back then for her to be killed so soon afterwards."

"Speaking of, what happened to them?"

"To whom? Son and Daughter? The latter probably rests on sunny beach, another kiiiind of assists me. I helped them overcome their long overdue teenage crisis, and now it should be fine. Of course, I did punch the guy for what he did."

"You let him go?!"

"AFTER returning balance. He is more tolerable now. I have a thing for second chances, I still walk because I had been given one. Well, that's all for now. Have fun and don't go anywhere."

Danny bowed slightly and left. Fisto looked at his fellow Jedi.

"He is just as weird as you reported," he commented. "To think that this man can destroy a city in a matter of half an hour..."

"We are lucky he doesn't want to rip our spines that much, then," Skywalker said sarcastically. "He is actually a nice guy once you get to know him more. AND when he is not one of our jailers. Right, Senator?"

"Yes. Although his authoritarian views are something appalling to me. He is a kind man, Master Fisto."

"It could be a ruse."

Anakin shrugged. Over the course of war he HAD come to respect the ghost, despite being on different sides of the conflict. If only he hadn't chosen the wrong side in the war. He was actually thinking ever since Phantom's battle caused so much destruction. The guy was a damn 'Lord of the Dead', or so he called himself. He seemed quite...lively. Well, he wasn't raising the dead to fight on his side, that was a relief.

Phantom floated through the corridors again, unsure about what to do. He hated not having a clear plan. The Emperor had a long night ahead. He wasn't going to just leave it. Danny couldn't rely on Son to constantly provide him with an information. Due to the lack of time he didn't immediately contact the agents on the planet, which there were. Now he had time.

Imperial multiculturalism was handy in the situations like these. The people could easily blend in, being of the same race. Two agents had been sent. Ironically, they were of two different species of Mon Cala. One couldn't help, because, apparently, because Mon-Calamari's houses had been pillaged, they were taken into slavery. He was one, so he was taken as well, despite holding no direct loyalty to the Prince. He was loyal to the Emperor and his planet, believing the Empire to be sufficient. Just as the Quarren one. The latter brought all the information she could gather, including the data on the drive camps.

Phantom was outraged at this. Slavery was not going to even be considered on his watch. It was illegal on the territories ruled by him. And, unlike the Republic, the rules were actually implemented everywhere. But, as usual, the criminals were trying to find different ways of covering their schemes. If only they used their inventiveness for something better than giving him a migraine. Not to mention that slave trade was common in the Confederacy, since it stretched across the Outer Rim - generally slave filled territory, the Senate never bothered with it. Mon Cala had a misfortune to be in that region.

Danny had a scheme in his mind, which was based around Riff Tamson's personality and Confederate laws. Early in the morning the messenger arrived in his room. Cookiecutter wanted an audience, the Prince was caught, or, to be exact, he surrendered willingly. Phantom was surely impressed, the guy had guts. Or a plan. Danny hurried to the throne room.

As he opened the doors, he was greeted by a sight. Yes, Lee-Char was there, the young Mon-Calamari, about seventeen years old at the seems. He was wearing a blue royal-looking suit with all according stuff. He had a high-domed head, webbed hands and large, goggle-like eyes. In addition to being webbed, the Mon-Calamari's hand presented three suction-cup like holes on its palm, and featured five claw-tipped fingers.

The Prince seemed concerned about his presence. Ahsoka stared at the guest with wide eyes, wearing a swimming suit and a helmet. Danny gave her a dry look, showing that he wasn't eager to see her there of all places.

"Ah, General, you are just in time," Tamson swam to him. "As you can see, everything is under control and without your help."

"Hm...I envy your luck. His Majesty waltzed into your hands himself while you weren't able to find him."

Ahsoka suppressed a snort of laughter. Cookiecutter narrowed his small eyes for a split second.

"Given time we would have been able to do that," he said dismissively. "What makes me wonder..."

In a blink he swam to the Prince, like a shark would to its prey.

"Is why he surrendered so easily. He almost has my respect."

"I don't need, nor do I want your respect!" The young man exclaimed.

Danny smirked invisibly. He liked the boy more and more. He stepped forward, crossing his hands.

"Now, now, let's not be rude here," Phantom said. "I'm sure you do have a reason to be angry. It's sad that it was like that with your people."

"Like what?! Enslaving them?! Nossor Ri, how can you allow this?" Lee-Char asked the Quarren.

Only now Danny became aware of his presence. Ri looked away, clearly ashamed. Phantom sang on within at seeing the fertile soil for his fruits of expansion. Just a little push.

"Ah, so that's why you are here. To beg for Nossor Ri to join you?" Tamson was dangerously close to him. "Why would he change the position he is now only to serve some little guppy?"

"I resent that," Danny put in. "I led a civil war at his age and won. There is no age for bravery."

"Foolishness, we call it," the shark responded.

"On the contrary. It would be foolish if the Quarren occupying the seat right now had an unwavering loyalty to the Confederacy."

"I-I am loyal!" The Quarren responded.

"No doubt," Danny continued calmly. "I think that the government should take it from now when the Prince is captured."

"What?!"

"Your job here is done, ambassador. Mon-Cala will be the part of Confederacy, so there is no need for embassies anymore."

"Over my dead body it will," The Prince said.

"This can be easily arranged, Your Highness," Tamson grinned. "But we have more important things to do."

"My people will never agree to this."

"They are my people now, Prince. Dooku promised me this planet, and I'm not going to cede it nor to you, nor this pathetic excuse for a General!" He pointed his clawed finger at the ghost.

The latter burst laughing. Hard.

"Oh, that's priceless. How many battles have YOU won, Cookiecutter? I haven't ever heard about you until now. My agents had a hard time finding anything of value about your almost nonexistent persona. Where does Dooku even find the likes of you?"

The look in the shark's eyes was that of surprise at such blow, just like everyone's. However, his expression became that of desire of bloody murder. Then he gave a smirk.

"You have no right to command over me now. I have been promoted to the General as well. I obey only the Count."

'Then I'm about to ruin this man's whole career,' Danny thought.

"Oh, great. Count has another toy. No wonder Coruscant still stands if he promotes people so easily."

"Look who is talking! Your commanders appeared out of nowhere."

"And wiped the floor of the Galaxy with the Republican forces immediately. Why am I supposed to respect you when Dooku has appointed you just so you could foul on my path?"

"Uhm...excuse me...are you going to continue arguing?" Nossor Ri asked.

"Maybe. You see, my friend, Dooku has done exactly what I've told you he would do. Your Majesty," he looked at the Prince. "You don't want the occupation, I can understand. But we don't want our enemy to grow stronger. This is war."

Tamson seemed furious. He clenched his clawed hand in anger at seeing Phantom treating him like that. Danny noticed this.

"What do YOU want?" Lee-Char asked, raising his eyebrow.

The ghost was relieved that the boy was a realist. He smiled. "I am here to help Quarrens. Yes, the situation has changed, but a wise ruler can understand the reason. My offer is to help you build a new government."

He heard a loud roar.

"Stop ignoring me!" Tamson yelled.

"You still here? Pal, let the politicians talk, you are not an ambassador anymore."

No one expected the next thing. Or so they thought. The shark lunged forward and slashed his arm. Danny screamed from pain as it slashed across his hand, tearing the cloth. Tamson panted heavily, he was about to repeat it in case that brat didn't get it after the first time. However, he heard a laughter again, which became even louder.

"You are more foolish than I thought. Do you realize what you have just done?"

"Taught you a lesson."

"If by that you mean a lesson on how attack the Council member, then yes," Danny grinned. "Damn, this jumpsuit costs more than your skinny pelt."

Ahsoka noticed his wink. She started to look around, before seeing that the guards were looking at the exchange. It was her chance to get out. She knocked the nearest one on the knee, before snatching a spear from his hands and using it to knock the guard out. Lee-Char noted her action and tried to do something as well. He saw the droid pointing a gun at her, so the Prince pushed it forward. Since they were underwater, it was simple. The blast went over Ahsoka's head. She spun around, before attacking the clanker.

"Are you sure it is what we are supposed to be doing?" Danny asked calmly, avoiding the hits from the shark. "You kind of overreacted."

Tamson roared again, lunging forward.

The Prince got a spear of his own. The droids were weak, he could take them, but Tamson's henchmen were too strong, especially if they attacked in packs. Ahsoka was helpful, able to kill several of them. Phantom finally decided to retaliate by punching the man in the face. Tamson was hurled backwards, screaming in pain. Danny looked at where his daughter was, along with Lee-Char. Behind the latter he saw another henchman.

"Prince, behind you!" The ghost shouted.

The boy spun around and was able to block the anthropomorphic shark from tearing him apart. Phantom hurled a lighting, which was inherently a bad idea underwater. But with his control Danny was able to direct it where needed. He got a fried fish, if only he had chips. Lee-Char, although reluctantly, nodded in gratitude.

Meanwhile Tamson snapped out of his bloody eyesight, finally realizing what was going on.

"You are a traitor!" He exclaimed.

"Really? It was you who kept attacking me over and over again," Phantom smirked. "This is a treason. Order your men to stand down."

"Oh, I will. After I rip your flesh!" He lunged forward. Since the throne room was large enough, there was a lot of space for maneuvers.

He managed to trick the ghost. First seemingly attacking him, Tamson took an abrupt turn and threw something looking like a knife at the Prince. Ahsoka noticed this and pushed Lee-Char away, using the Force. The knife hit the column behind them, before exploding a few seconds later. Danny was about to attack, but other sharks made him busy. Same went for Ahsoka, making the Prince fight the brute alone.

"Let's see if you can put up more of a fight than your father," Tamson grinned, before pinning the Mon-Calamari to the wall. The Prince stared at him.

"What?"

"It is me who killed him. And you shall be next."

The shark roared and hurled the Prince away. Lee-Char had to avoid the knives being thrown at him. They exploded one by one, destroying the throne room. It became clear to him that the others were not going to help him anytime soon. Danny was holding back for some reason. And he did have one. Ahsoka was occupied and Nossor Ri was nowhere to be seen. The Prince stretched the distance between them.

Suddenly Lee-Char came up with an idea. He snatched the knife passing him. The Prince then hurled it to the sender. It hit the bullseye, or the sharkchest. Tamson roared deeply and loudly, while the knife kept ticking, before doing something drastical. He swam forward on incredible speeds. He wanted to blow up them both. Lee-Char snatched the blaster floating nearby and aimed at the knife, intending to blow it up sooner. His finger was about to press the trigger, when suddenly a blast came from the side. It hit the spot and the explosion barely passed the Prince.

"Nossor Ri?" He asked, shocked at seeing the armed Quarren.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the old alien bowed slightly. "I cannot ask for much, but I hope I can redeem myself in your eyes."

The Prince smiled. "Of course, my friend."

"While this is good and all..."

They turned and saw Phantom having finished the rest. Ahsoka killed the last droid as well.

"There is still an issue," Danny said, flipping away a piece of what used to be Tamson.

"You must leave this planet," Lee-Char said.

"On the contrary, Your Majesty. Nossor Ri, I take it that you no longer support the Confederacy?"

The Quarren was silent.

"Nevermind. I just stood by myself."

It was much simpler to make the Prince kill the representative.

"I respect you, Prince. In such young age, trying to lead a rebellion...I remember my exact memory. You fight for what is right, and I respect that. The very fact of civil war alone proves that your system is flawed."

"And you have something to offer?"

"Indeed. I, yet again return to the history of Rome. The legend tells about its founders - Romul and Rem, the children of the god of war. Romul killed his brother and became a king, naming the city after himself. The city attracted a lot of settlers, but the issue was that there wasn't enough women. So Romul stole them from another city. A war was lurking on the horizon because of that. But they found a compromise. Their cities united, and it was declared that two kings, one of each city, shall rule together. I offer you to do the same."

"I don't seek to be a king," Nossor Ri shook his head.

"Neither you should. But the Prince may need a representative from the Quarrens. On the constant basis."

"I don't see anything bad with it," Lee-Char said thoughtfully. "This way our people shall be equal. But...what's in it for you?"

"You see, I am here to secure the stance of Mon-Cala in the war. I am confident that the Confederacy is out of question. But I am not going to let the Republic become stronger. I want to at least see you neutral. Here, all cards are before you, Your Majesty."

"The Republic sent people to die for us. We can at least appreciate it. If you really have an ounce of respect, you will accept this decision. Doesn't a Jedi have something to say?"

Ahsoka glanced at Danny, seeing him nod slightly.

"You better leave, Phantom," she said.

To everyone's shock, he shrugged. "So be it. If you completely accept the responsibility for the guy's death," he pointed at what used to be Tamson. "Also...I won't tolerate active acts against the Protectorate. I won't attack you in exchange, you have my word. You let my trade ships pass. Do we have a deal, after all I did help you?" Danny outstretched his hand.

The Prince understood that he shouldn't test his luck. It was the opportunity he wasn't going to miss. To make a non-aggression pact with one of the most powerful leaders of the Galaxy, not many had this chance. He shook the hand.

Danny didn't need people to flock under his banner immediately. Sometimes, it was better to make them like you.


	55. Chapter LV: The shadow world

Danny put a hand on his chin, his expression was that of a deep thought. Near him stood his two most trusted commanders, who awaited his decision. Thrawn's hologram calmly dusted his pearly white uniform, while Haseas tapped on the edge of holographic table impatiently, looking at the strange cube-like copy of the map. The place they were in made Phantom's stomach twist. He hated completely white rooms. Danny simply tried to ignore it. They weren't alone, however.

There were two people as well. They had extremely pale, slightly bluish skin, completely colorless eyes. Their clothes were extravagant, although light, grey and black. However, the second one wore more humble robes, if they could be called that.

Danny sighed and crossed his hands. "The situation seems to be not as bad as it looked at first. I don't understand your worries."

"General, we certainly wouldn't have called you here if your help wasn't required," one of the aliens said.

"Consul Deechi, your race has techs the Republic can't even dream to make. The Grand Army of the Republic won't be able to stand against them."

"Our soldiers are of lower caste, but we still are not willing to waste their lives. Even with all our technologies, the clones are the most professional soldiers there are. There is a danger. We have joined the Confederacy, and asked for your personal protection. Don't you deny it now."

"Easy, easy, my friend. My job is to ask, I am going to help my allies, nevertheless. What's the situation in details?"

"The Republic sent two armies to two conquer our planet: the 501st Legion and the 212th Attack Battalion. They are supported by the Tenth Fleet."

"I see. Admiral Thrawn, how much time is it going to take for your fleet to get here?" Phantom looked at his Chiss subordinate.

"Approximately four days, My Lord. So as to avoid losses in the Ghost Nebula because of hard navigation."

"Curses," Consul muttered. "The Republicans have already set off from Alderaan. They will be here in two."

"Legio CCXXV Apollinaris is ready, sir," Haseas straightened. "Onderon is in close proximity. The Legion has been stationed there on Lady Bontheri's request."

"I think she won't be against if we take it back for a while," Danny commented. "Order them to pack on the ships. No delays can be allowed. We have to prepare defenses."

"It shall be done with all haste, My Lord," Haseas nodded, before walking off to make certain calls.

"He has a strange taste for clothes."

"I beg your pardon?" Danny looked at Deechi.

"He wears that black uniform of the Sith Empire. Are you fine with it?"

"That man has been with me from the beginning of my rise to power. He can wear whatever he wants. Anyways, what are the supposed landing spots?"

"They obviously would want to take the capital. Such limited task force could only aim to that," Thrawn's hologram said.

"Indeed. We shall fortify the outskirts of the city," the Consul said as his companion took notes. "Issue the required set of materials," he looked at the other Umbaran. The man continued taking notes. "I suppose that one of their targets would be our airbase. From there we would be able to bomb their guts from inside of them."

"Aren't there others?"

"Not exactly," Consul crossed his hands. "They are very distant. The aircrafts are unable to fly back and forward on such large distances. Those are not star fighters."

"I see...the droid army cannot make it here, the resources are just as scarce. But you do have a fleet, right?"

"It isn't much. Dooku had sent us a squadron. How many ships do you have, Admiral?" Deechi asked, looking at the Chiss.

"We can send the Seventh fleet. If we take the Republic by surprise we will be able to crush them."

"I trust your skill, Admiral," Danny commented. "Do what you must in order to win. The squadron should be transferred under his command, Consul."

"It's not like we have a choice for that matter. And it is with great displeasure that we must put ourselves in full dependence of your actions. The Republic sees us as traitors, they won't spare us."

"If they get to you. Which they won't," Danny smirked. "I've learned that five hundred and first Legion is going to be put under command of one Jedi general. It's Skywalker's legion, but he is being recalled to Coruscant. He doesn't know that yet, but my agents in the Republican administration report about the change."

"How did you bring them to aid you?"

"One has to be observant. The biggest perk of corrupt system is that there is always a nice blackmail on everyone," Danny grinned.

"Impressive," The Umbaran said, sounding sincere.

There was nothing their race appreciated more than a well placed intrigue.

The urgency of the situation forced the Legio to be quick the second they landed on the surface of the shadow world of Umbara. The place was really depressing. Not a single sun ray was getting through the thick pitch black clouds. Each soldier of the Imperial army was a potential builder, it was a part of studying. Umbarans were ready to fight, but weren't eager to build fortifications. To enact a network of bunkers in a couple of days was not a small feat. They were composed around the nearest large open area, not filled with glowing blue plants.

Danny all along was with his soldiers, helping them to build metal fortifications. His abilities came in handy. It was going to be the biggest fight of his own legions in that war. He wanted them to be as safe as possible. That was why the Emperor-soldier was so adored by his men. When they had free time, they just sat and sang the songs they had thought up long ago during the civil war. Danny was for it, that was the best way to inspire them for the upcoming fight. He just stood by side and listened how they did so and played.

The love for our homeland is burning our hearts,

We go to deadly battles for honor of the native lands,

Cities are now burning, covered up to heads in smoke!

In gray forests rumbles cruel God of War.

Legionnaires, it's our Lord's command!

Legionnaires, it's our country's call!

From the hundreds, thousands of batteries,

For Glory, for the Fatherland,

Fire!

Know, my darling mother, know, my wife, my friend,

Know, my distant home and whole family of mine,

What's beating, burning enemy is our storm of fire.

Freedom we shall bring to Galaxy at large!

Legionnaires, it's our Lord's command!

Legionnaires, it's our country's call!

From the hundreds, thousands of batteries,

For Glory, for the Fatherland,

Fire!

The time of victory shall enter, the end of marches soon will come!

But before we go to our lovely, cozy home,

In honor of our leader, in honor of the people,

We'll salute with utter joy in the pure, blue sky!

Legionnaires, it's our Lord's command!

Legionnaires, it's our country's call!

From the hundreds, thousands of batteries,

For Glory, for the Fatherland,

Fire!

From the hundreds, thousands of batteries,

For Glory, for the Fatherland,

Fire!

Danny always had a smile as they were unaware about his presence. They always mentioned him, more or less. It made him understand his purpose. They were thankful for everything he had done for them. Many of them used to be slaves, they would have died at the hands of some cruel owner, unneeded, starved and forgotten. They went in the army because it was pretty much they could do - shoot. They had to be taught reading and counting of all things, aside from military drills. The threat of death was even bigger here, but in this case they would be remembered. There already was memorial in the capital, which said: 'Your name is unknown. Your deed is immortal.'

The time arrived, just as the Republican forces. Everything went just as expected. Phantom had sacrificed two minor ships of droids to give them a false sense of security. The rest of the squadron was on the opposite side of the planet, prepared to spring a trap when Thrawn arrives. Until then, their defenses had to stand. As soon as the landing shuttles started to descend, all cannons stared firing with everything they had. Umbarans had strange artillery, and strange tanks, which hurled white electromagnetic plasma, extremely destructive.

"Sir!" One of the white armored Stormtroopers reported to Phantom. They could use black armors, but there wasn't any. "We have detected movements. The squadron of bombers is approaching."

Danny nodded, before looking at the Umbaran officer nearby. "Turn on the shields now!"

His order was put into fruition as the Emperor looked through the binoculars at the distant grounds. The soldier ran off to his post. The landscape was more than perfect, giving the Confederacy the advantage, while they were at the higher ground. The shield could easily block the bombardment. They were relatively safe, until the clones got to the position of the shield generator. But it also meant that the artillery's range became limited as well. The shield also blocked the shots from the outside. Some bombs had the time to reach the destinations.

Danny immediately departed, vanishing and reappearing closer to the frontline. He stood above the entrenchment, and many looked up at him. On the planet of permanent darkness, his glowing form stood out even more. The clones' drop ships were approaching, dropping something on the ground. Danny took binoculars again and looked there, seeing a force composed of AT-RTs - small, but very quick walkers. They were something akin to cavalry in battle. A cavalry which could jump five meters away from the fire.

"Rocket launchers at the ready!" Phantom yelled, raising his gloved hand. His order was immediately passed along the line, thanks to him being transmitted to everyone.

The soldiers took out the long cylinders and pointed them at the approaching enemies. Those who had them, of course.

"Wait for it...let them come!"

Several walkers suddenly started exploding. They had to pass mine fields first. The disadvantage of walkers - they didn't exactly disarm the mines afterwards. Meaning that walking right behind it didn't guarantee safety from another small bomb waiting to rip off their legs. They also were under constant fire from Umbaran tanks and artillery. Finally they crossed the imaginable line.

"Fire!" The Emperor commanded.

Rockets took out even more walkers. The clones were going through the heavy casualties, but there was seemingly no end. Their drop ships kept shooting with their laser cannons. Danny growled at seeing one of them destroy the hover tank. Suddenly he had to duck under blue blast. Now the walkers were in the close enough reach. The soldiers were now vulnerable, they had to fire from their rifles. Phantom summoned the energy shield, giving them a strong cover. They could see through it, just as poke their guns and fire, while being completely protected.

Bunkers also started firing from machine guns. The same method applied to them - metal constructions had a hole for shooting, which was in turn covered by the energy shield. They always blocked energy particles, but let through physical objects if they were slow enough.

Phantom was controlling the two mile long frontline, but the shield didn't stretch this far. It was one main road to the capital which had been turned into a fortification line. Why so short? Because there were only dark forests around. Full of eager native partisans. It was mostly the ground where the Umbarans acted, out of his command. But Phantom knew that the Clone Army and their Jedi generals wouldn't risk so much by diving there.

Danny was given full authority to act as he pleased. There were three directions from which the attack could come. The capital was near the mountains, being a former fortress, so the West was secure from any force. The command of two roads was given to the other officers, who also reported to him in case of emergencies. The fight itself was going on a very considerable distance from the city, so as to cover the airbase as well.

"My Lord, we are losing ground on the southern frontier!" Danny heard from a communicator in his ear. "Sector 0T54!"

"Flames," Phantom cursed, still holding the shield. "How bad is it?"

"The Umbaran tanks are destroyed, we have no longer support, we have to..."

The white noise replaced the soldier's voice. Danny narrowed his eyes, before sending away a duplicate. He then activated the lightsaber and twisted in his arm, preparing for the upcoming offense. The shield couldn't remain forever, covering a considerable distance and holding back a torrent of shots was complicated for more than ten minutes.

"Entrenched testudo!" Phantom yelled.

Scutarii ran to the first line, before activating their special gauntlets. The name came from their additional responsibility. Rectangular body-sized shields emerged from their devices. There was a technology which simply encompassed the body in such energy, but the amount of radiation could cause fatal illnesses, such as cancer, so it was a no go. Red shields were held in diagonal line at the edge of the trenches, giving another line of protection for the troops behind them. The scutarii were of races with exceptional strength, because they had to stand against continuous blasts, while their comrades were shooting from behind their shield wall.

Phantom removed his barrier.

Meanwhile on the other end of the frontline the Republican command seemed not happy about how the advance went.

"Sir, we are being shot at before we are able to get close!" The clone approached his general.

The Jedi was an Iktotchi, with red skin and two horns pointed forward being the distinctive features. "What about the others?"

"Generals Skywalker and Kenobi are pushing from the North and South and so far they seem to be more successful."

"That's because they don't have a white haired rascal for the commander," the Jedi muttered. "We must break through to support the offensive, but we can't waste our troops. Stop sending the walkers, retreat behind the shield dome, they won't be able to shoot at us."

"Understood, General."

As the Imperial soldiers realized that the enemy was retreating, they started to cheer loudly, some even threw their helmets in the air happily.

"As much as I would like to celebrate," Danny's loud voice instantly caught their attention and everyone fell silent. He put a hand on his communicator, making himself heard across the line.

"It was only the first wave. They will return. Mine fields won't be helping us anymore, and we have suffered losses. But do not falter, for each our soldier they have lost ten. They won't be able to throw their toys at us forever. Now fix the defenses, carry the dead, tend the wounded and prepare to repel each bastard who thinks that he is better than our legions!"

An uproar of the soldiers was his answer. As the troops went to complete his order, Phantom closed his eyes to see where the duplicate was. As the battle was finished where he was, the duplicate was engaged in a big fight, many miles away.

"Keep going!" He commanded loudly, swiping his sword and deflecting the shots. "Retreat to the second line of defense, I'll give you cover!"

Many would have thought that he was seriously underestimating the enemy, but the legionaries were confident in their Emperor's abilities. They ran backwards, occasionally turning around and responding with fire. They had to run three hundred meters under constant bombardment from the Republicans. Danny kept deflecting the shots back at the clones, but it wasn't enough. No matter how powerful he was, Phantom was only one man, he didn't have hundreds of guns. Wait...

Danny noticed what had remained from both sides. Blasters were lying around now. He pushed away the nearest walker, throwing it away and getting a chance to do as he planned. With a slow raise of his hands, thousands of blasters were flung in the air and pointed towards the enemy. The clones, who so far had been advancing steadily, were baffled, realizing what was going to happen now.

"Take cover!" Was a simultaneous yell.

With a simple move of his pointing finger, Phantom unleashed hell. Each blaster, big, small, a rifle or a pistol, were hurling crimson blasts of electrified gas, making Umbara see the light yet unseen by that shadow world. Not a single clone was able to peak from the hole, and those who didn't find any, received two, three, or more shots, which pierced their white plastoid armor with yellow stripes. Phantom sensed terror and smirked widely.

"Get back to the vials you have crawled from!" He shouted, and he was heard all across the line, despite everything: screams, whirring and desperate shots, trying to shoot him.

It lasted for god knows how long. Ammo packs of any blaster were standardized - two hundreds shots in each, only their speed and power differed. It meant that the torrent of fire was unstoppable for a very long time.

"How are we supposed to get there?!" One of the clones looked at his brother as they sat behind the fallen walker.

"He will run out of ammo, we must wait."

The prediction was real, and Danny was not a fool to forget about it, despite an outbursts of adrenalin. One by one the guns stopped shooting, some simply broke because the heat they were experiencing was unbearable. In some the carcass started to literally melt, letting the clones to open the responding fire. Phantom vanished after hurling the blusters, white from overheating, forward, giving himself enough time. Some were hit by them, but the force of throw wasn't enough to kill.

He reappeared at another trench line. Danny pleasantly noted that the legionaries hadn't wasted time and started preparing. They had only a few minutes, but the bunkers were already taken, machine guns were loaded and occupied.

"My Lord," the officer in black uniform greeted. "Thank you for your help. I don't know what we would have done..."

"Spare me the thanks, Captain. We have no time for exchanging pleasantries."

At these words they heard an explosion, followed by other ones. The Republican artillery was at work.

"Take cover!" Phantom yelled.

The soldiers jumped in the trenches and sat on their knees. It was the best protection they had so far. Danny followed the motion. He cursed multiple times and put a hand on his communicator.

"Where are the damn aircrafts?!" He yelled as the dirt fell on his head, thrown down the trench by the explosion of active plasma.

"They are engaged in a combat, General," T-series tactical droid reported calmly. It's not like it had any emotions. "It shall take twelve minutes and thirty six seconds to finish it, with the positive outcome for us equal to fifty nine percents."

"Just great," Phantom muttered. "What's going on...get down!" He shouted to the soldier and pushed him downwards. "What about the north?"

"The frontline is crippled. The main striking force of the 501st legion of the Republic is there."

Danny started to think. Even the constant noise couldn't distract him. The CCXXV Legio had fifty thousand soldiers, but they were stretched across the line. Skywalker, while having less, put his army in a united fist, and it was easier for him to get through.

"Issue a retreat. Unite the cohorts in sector N073, let the partisans do their job. Be as quick as possible."

Classic tactic. If Skywalker broke through, he would swipe from behind, surround and destroy the cohort, for there wouldn't be any place to retreat to. It wasn't going to happen on Phantom's watch.

"Yes, General."

Danny was pacing back and forward from one line to another, and that several hours long marathon of shooting and slashing the blade was exhausting even for him, even if he was used to long battles. But, finally, he could relax for a short while. The Republic got what they wanted - a bridgehead for the invasion, even if they had suffered serious losses. They had to wait for more reinforcements of fresh units. It gave the Confederate forces some time to rest as well.

The ghost went to the headquarters. He had a privilege of taking a warm shower and food. In his defense, Danny didn't rest for long and got to the job he had been given. The situation was undecided. It would have been better if the attack was repelled during the landing, but it was impossible without a proper fleet. There were two days left until Thrawn arrived. It was going to be a very continuous bloodbath. At least the dominance of the sky was assured for the Imperials. It was a relief.

"General," the Umbaran soldier approached him as Danny was going through the trench line. The alien was dressed in a black slim armor, with a see through tall helmet, full of transparent stimulation gas. It helped them fasten their reflexes and sensory feelings.

"Yes?" Phantom asked, moving the fallen vehicle in front of the trench using the Force.

"We have received the report that general Skywalker was relieved of his current duties. He left to Coruscant on the Chancellor's orders."

"I knew that," Danny looked at him. "Has his replacement arrived?"

"Affirmative, sir," he seemed nervous. "It is Jedi Master Pong Krell."

The Jedi was known for one thing - he never lost. His attacks were as swift as they were destructive. However, the pale alien was stunned when Phantom burst laughing.

"Krell?! Alright, count out the 501st."

"Why?"

Danny looked back and saw Haseas standing there. Phantom grinned.

"My dear Lord General. Have you ever wondered how that guy ascended so quickly?" Danny put his hands behind the black-armored back, making a clanging sound.

"Because he is skillful, I would have said. If I didn't know you and your level of knowledge."

Phantom laughed again, before waving his hand, sending the Umbaran away. Danny smiled at his long-time friend after taking a look around.

"I'm glad you don't doubt me, Haseas. The reason is, I helped him."

A moment of silence followed. "What?" Followed a question.

"I can see the talents. And I can see flaws. So far he is the most arrogant Jedi I have ever known. His victories were owned in a price of enormous losses. Terrific ones. Ninety goddamn percents of his legion. But I helped to smooth the edges and bring it out more as a great victory, rather than a pyrrhic massacre."

"Two issues. Why and how?"

"Just a few documents was enough. I also made some fake Confederacy papers, as if we have made a trap from which Krell managed to crawl out. As for why I need it...who would be easier to defeat? Thrawn or some random redneck I would pick and give the rank of Grand Admiral as well?"

Haseas snorted, understanding his Emperor's way of thinking. "So you are helping the amateur to utterly defeat him in battle."

"Exactly. Do you know his strategy? He is always striking head on. This attack was like that because the Republic had no space whatsoever, no ability for any tactical tricks."

"It reminds me of certain kind of droids..."

"You mean T-series? Yeah, they are good only as adjutants. Nothing else. The name is funny for me, actually. Returning to the matter at hand, we still mustn't underestimate that Jedi. It is the most fatal mistake to make, I'm not the one to tell you this. We were underestimated once," Danny smirked.

"And now you are the most powerful man in the Galaxy," Haseas chuckled. "Alright, I have a job to do," the older man patted the young ghost on the shoulder.

Never in his mind the Yuth would have imagined getting into such place. And it was even more amazing to face the fact that less than ten years ago he was a slave. He owed Phantom everything and he was going to fulfill the command. For his Emperor.


	56. Chapter LVI: The treachery

"I must admit, I didn't expect the partisan warfare to be so effective," Phantom noted with a note of amusement.

"You will find out that our warriors are quite skilled," responded the Consul somewhat smugly. "We have disrupted proper communications between the frontlines. They still can talk, but...it takes much more time to do so."

"I see," Danny mumbled, looking at the hologram. "One day left before we kick the Republicans out of here."

"Why are you so confident that they are going to surrender?"

"What choice will they have? It's not like they would be able to get out of here without their precious Venators and Acclamators."

"A perfect trap," the Umbaran tapped on his chin. "Many of the ships will be on the ground at that moment."

"Utterly defenseless, yes."

"What about the airbase?"

Danny looked at the Lord General inquiringly. "Yes, Haseas, care to enlighten?"

The Yuth nodded, walking to the hologram and pressing several buttons. "We have it under our control, the aircrafts keep bombing their positions. The clones must be exhausted after marching for twelve good hours and fighting off the partisans. While High General Kenobi and that other Jedi let their soldiers rest for at least a short while in some deep hole where proton bombs won't be able to get them, 501st has it hard. Your suspicions were correct, My Lord."

Consul Deechi raised his pale eyebrow. The man seemed to be rather dedicated. Or maybe the title of Lord was simply a part of the Imperial esthetic, just like the uniform was. These two were surely weird.

"Krell hasn't made a single stop. We have made observations, and the Jedi seems to treat the clones like mindless droids."

Haseas said it slowly, cautiously glancing at the Emperor. He knew that his monarch was going to take it close. There were very few people who knew about how Dani really came to be, and the Yuth was one of them. Surprisingly, Phantom seemed calm.

"I knew that," Danny said offhandedly. "This toad disgusts me greatly because of his attitude. If his soldiers don't kill him first, I'll personally show him how...impolite I can be."

"The first one seems to be unlikely," the Consul put in. "They are indoctrinated from birth to serve the Republic and obey their commanders. I've never heard about betrayal among their ranks."

"An army of slaves," Haseas muttered, bitter for understandable reasons.

"They were created with this purpose alone," Danny looked at the hologram. "Accelerated aging was added only to get rid of them sooner. They are technically ten years old."

"Now let's not get carried away," the Consul intervened. "Feeling empathy for the enemy won't do us any good."

Haseas narrowed his eyes. "The Republic is sending but children into fight. Many Jedi Padawans are mere teens! This is disgusting!"

"The entire Republic is like this," Deechi shrugged, crossing his hands. "We are in the Confederacy because of it. And I'd ask not to raise voice at me, General."

Haseas retreated and Danny sighed.

"The only thing we can do is to end this war sooner," he said. "Haseas, a word please. Respected Consul, I think that's all the information we need."

Two Imperials were left alone, and no one could hear them. Phantom looked at his friend.

"I'm still waiting for the report about the Star Forge," he said. "You know I cannot be everywhere."

"Oh, yes, I have been told that the construction is going as planned. Two more months and it will make dreadnoughts free of charge."

"Good...this means there will be three months."

Haseas looked at him weirdly. "What do you mean?"

"Two months to make the driveyard, one month to build as many ships as possible. Then, we will finally stop hiding."

"Is...is this already arranged?"

"No, the Council hasn't been notified yet. It is our plan, however. We have been planning the offense for God knows how many years. We shall sweep quickly and mercilessly. My father has succeeded this way, after all."

"Ehm, your father?"

Danny froze. No one, not even Haseas knew about what Phantom had learned on Dathomir. How could he let this slip?!

"Nothing important," he responded.

"You know you can tell me," Haseas pressed. "Wait...the only one who repeated this trick was..."

"Enough is enough."

"The Sith Emperor himself."

Phantom's eyes flashed brightly, making even his older friend jump. "Yes, as much as I'd like you to forget all of this. Shouldn't have let you study the history of the Galaxy."

"Wait, is this actually truth?!"

"Shhh!" Danny hissed. "You want everyone around to hear?!"

"It's just...how?!"

"Time travel and other stuff. But yes. Here I am, the son of Emperor Valkorion. Doesn't ring any bells WHY I'd like everyone to be unaware about this?"

Phantom obviously sounded pissed.

"Sorry," Haseas raised his hands in surrender. "You don't want anyone to fear you once they find out, I get it. If I have something to say about this...I think that it can be turned to your advantage."

Danny raised his eyebrow. "How?"

"I'm not the intrigue master here, ask Keeper. But many people don't even know who Valkorion was, much less about his rule. It can also help legitimize your rule over the Galaxy. He was ruling it for some time."

"Before being killed by my brother. And then again by some Jedi. I get your point. But this is a branch with two ends. Either I call the man I despise a nice ruler, or try to deny any relationship. There is nothing in between," Danny sighed. "You are free to go. And not. A word."

"I don't need to be told twice."

The Grand Army became not so grand. Their numbers shortened, it was only a miracle and the soldiers' bravery that they were still alive. The 501st went along the carefully built road, lit by the small blue lights along it.

"God, how long are we supposed to go?" One of the clones mumbled.

"Were you sleeping? We are advancing to the airbase to support General Kenobi's offense," another one responded.

"Sleeping? I know no such thing," the soldier said dryly.

"Enough, you two," the third one put in.

"Oh, common, Fives, you are the last one to stop complaints about Krell. The guy pointed a lightsaber at you, for goodness sake."

"I'm as much displeased with his leadership as you are, guys. But just grumbling won't do us any good either, Hardcase."

"Hey, any thoughts about who these are?" Hardcase pointed at the fallen legionary as they passed the body. "I doubt those are the locals."

"Well, that's rather simple. Have you seen that ridiculous banner holders? Only one man can order his soldiers to carry those around. How do they call them? Aq...aqcui...aquilifiers, yes. Damn, Phantom just can't come up with normal names."

Hardcase scratched his helmet. "It's strange that he doesn't like using clankers. Then again, they aren't much of use..."

"Where does he take them, though?"

"That I don't know."

"Fives!"

The named clone in white, grey and blue armor looked to the source. Another one of his comrades approached them.

"What is it, Rex?"

"General Krell needs us," the clone pointed at the path behind them.

"Hey, Captain, people say you have actually talked to Phantom. Is it true?"

Rex sighed. "I don't have time to answer. But in short, never repeat my mistake. He can dig deeply into each word said by you."

Fives and Rex walked off the path, going through the lines of their fellow troops. They were saddened by the image. The clones, including themselves, were tired. How were they supposed to sleep when the Umbarans attacked from the forests, from the sky and from the underground on their caterpillar tanks? It was a good thing for them that their enemy needed rest as well. But at least they got it, thanks to their general's actions. Finally the clones got to their temporary commanding officer.

General Pong Krell was a Besalisk from planet Ojom. He had brown glandular skin, and on top of his head there was a black bone three-pronged headcrest. Krell was very tall, about 2.36 meters. He had yellow eyes, his chin was bloated in a frog-like manner, with a chunk of black hair, reminiscent of beard. Another distinctive feature were four thick arms, each with four fingers. He was wearing typical brown Jedi robes, and was currently looking through the binoculars, holding it with two top hands.

"You called, General?"

"Yes, I did," the Jedi removed the device and regarded them with a dismissive look. "We have approached enough to the airbase. It is time we attack."

"And..."

"Prepare the troops, we are going to attack."

"Sir, they seem to have formidable defense there. What are you planning?"

"As usual. We attack quickly and mercilessly until we wipe the Umbarans and their allies from the Protectorate."

Fives took off his helmet, revealing the same Hispanic-like face which used to belong to Jango Fett, with navy haircut and a number '5' tattooed on his temple. Rex followed the gesture, looking exactly like his brother, but without tattoos and hair whatsoever.

"From the front I take it?"

"I don't like your tone, CT-5555. Yes, we will break their backbone."

"It is madness! You have seen their defenses!" Fives exclaimed.

"Oh, so you have something better to offer?" Master Krell asked sarcastically. "Lead them through the forests, for instance? General Kenobi needs our help in getting rid of this airbase and we will do just that, am I clear, CT-5555?" He raised his voice with each word, poking the soldier's chest with one of his huge fingers.

Fives resisted a glare at his superior. Krell's refusal to call them by names, only by serial numbers like they were mere droids, was starting to piss him off.

"Prepare the soldiers, we are leaving."

As the Jedi finished giving his commands, he walked off, leaving his soldiers alone.

"Common, Fives," Rex put on his helmet.

"How can you follow this task?!" Fives exclaimed. "We all are going to die there!"

"We can't disobey, no matter how much we both dislike the order. I myself am not eager to go through with it. But frontal assault it is."

Meanwhile Phantom was busy inspecting the lines. He found them satisfactory, but there was no telling how they were going to work out in the end. Ironically, Danny was also checking out the airbase, since it was one of the most important points, both sides knew this. There were twenty vehicles left after encountering the Republican aircrafts, but as long as they didn't go to high where the Republic could get them from their cruisers, the dominance over the skies was assured.

Danny was walking down the road, when he accidentally overheard a conversation of his soldiers, who were sitting on the broken walker's leg.

"Hey, Jim, have you heard the rumors?" One of them asked.

"I swear, if this is one of that ridiculous stories..."

"No, it's not. They concern the Emperor."

It made Danny freeze. He was standing behind them, so they didn't notice his presence.

"What about him?"

"I heard that His Majesty is, well...dead."

Phantom raised his eyebrow. The soldier's reptilian companion snorted. "Seriously? We have just seen him walking around and checking every scratch in the wall."

"Why, thank you, I'm trying."

The legionaries jumped from their seats and turned around. They immediately hit their chests, making Danny chuckle.

"No need to salute me each time," he smiled.

"Y-your Majesty, for how long have you been there?"

"Enough," Phantom said curtly. "Take a seat, I can stand."

Two men sat on their improvised chair, not taking their eyes off their Emperor. It was a big honor to speak with the demigod in the flesh as he seemed to be.

"So...where did you hear such a theory?" Danny asked, leaning against the main body of the vehicle. "You are a human, so I take it that you are from Terra."

"Yes, milord."

"Despite how weird it sounds...how would you have felt if I was a walking corpse?"

"It would be...strange."

"I'm asking about another thing. What would have been a priority for you? It's fine, you can answer truthfully."

"Uhm...I'm not sure..."

Danny sighed. The guy was still wary of speaking with him directly. Understandable, his image was that of the exalted demigod, not many could find confidence in such situation. After all, even if his people knew about their Lord's benevolence,

"Let me answer instead. I have built this Empire as the country for all. It shouldn't at all matter what the person is. Your friend here is not a human, yet you are talking quite casually. If I was a walking dead, would it have changed everything accomplished?"

"Sir...you haven't answered."

Danny looked at the scaly legionary. "Depends on how you look at it. I'm a being with my own biology, I simply don't follow the laws you obey. So, in some way, I am the undead, as my heart doesn't beat and I don't breath."

His communicator beeped.

"My Lord, we have noticed the movements of the 501st," the scout's voice sounded. "They are moving towards the base."

"Transmit the full information on their whereabouts. I need to know everything."

"Affirmative, sir!"

As the call ended, Phantom looked around. "Soldiers, take your positions!" He yelled.

"You better not disappoint me, Krell," the ghost mumbled.

The Legionaries immediately ran to the trenches and assumed their posts on the towers around the airbase, as Danny's voice was heard everywhere, thanks to his ability. There was only one entrance. Phantom whisked away and on the wall, taking the binoculars. The Imperials started to wait, until Danny's patience evaporated quickly.

"Sergeant."

The Umbaran approached him. "Tell the spider tanks to...encourage our Republican friends," Danny said calmly.

Phantom saw a grin on his pale face. "Will do, General."

Soon enough the cannons started firing mercilessly, covering the sky in blue blasts. Danny smirked, glancing at the soldiers near him. They pointed their rifles forward. Those were of Terran design, the humans quickly got accustomed to the alien technologies. BR-11 was a model used among the usual Stormtroopers, for its balance of price and quality. They had the size of the usual bullet rifle, but were lighter. They also had retractable stocks and the opposite end of the gun, turning it into carbine at will.

The clones attacked, going into insane forward attack. Just as Danny predicted. The deafening sound of continuous blasts continued, and Phantom immediately leaped into action, lightsaber ablaze. After a while the Emperor was notified that the Republican army was attacking simultaneously. It was an attempt to distract him, but Phantom was firm in keeping his priorities. Losing the airbase was something they couldn't afford. It didn't mean that he wouldn't send his duplicates to assist. It was funny for him to imagine the reaction when he appeared everywhere.

The ground was kept firm, the clones were exhausted so much that most weren't able to resist properly. And in times of war, the punishment for the weak comes quickly. Danny could smell his victory over the famed 501st legion of General Skywalker. It was quite renowned for its many victories. But it was also thanks to their leader, who was absent from the beginning of the battle. Phantom decided to start a little show off.

He leaped forward, in front of the trenches. Many legionaries could only watch in awe at the utter decimation of the clone troopers. Phantom's mastership of the lightsaber combat had increased greatly. For most he was only a shining white streak, jumping from one clone to another, without receiving a single shot in himself. The Republicans experienced a lot of suffering from the white haired demon in front of them. Lucky those who were simply hurled away by the Force push. Danny was about to pursue the walker, when he had to block the lightsabers.

"You are a dead man, General," Krell growled, pushing his enemy away.

Danny was actually impressed at the Jedi's choice of weapon. Two dual lightsabers, each held in two arms. Phantom smirked fangily, deflecting the shot coming from the side.

"If you think you are smart because of saying this, Captain Obvious, you are mistaken."

Krell was really fast for someone of his complexion. Add to that four lightsaber blades, and you get a walking shredder. But the brutal force was not something Phantom could be defeated with. Krell foolishly expected himself to be stronger, but Phantom calmly deflected the strikes with the second form of combat. He looked elegant as ever, without having to use his second hand, even under the rainstorm of the strikes, blocking and smoothly dodging. Krell's job was also complicated because Phantom's blade was nearly invisible, only a thin aura showed its position.

"I suppose I should thank you," Danny kept grinning. "To send so many clones," he pushed the opponent's blade away and blasted Krell in the chest gap lightly. The Jedi yelped, but recovered in a split second. "It's like sending the ants under a boot."

"You are not going to win, brat!"

The amphibian swung both swords and Danny jumped backwards. The ghost ran forward and hurled the lightsaber. Krell easily deflected it, making the weapon fall on the dry ground. Phantom expected just that. The young man slid beneath the ground at the second the Jedi had to turn his head, and his enemy looked around once the absence was noticed. He heard a boyish laughter in the air. Krell blocked the strike from his side, as the Force was with him.

"I have already won, Master Jedi," Danny said as their swords clashed again and again, the sparks from the impacts flying around. "It's simply a matter of time until the realization dawns upon you."

Phantom noticed the walker pointing its big gun at him. He teleported right on it, kicking off the clone with his foot. Krell didn't even have time to blink, but had a time to dodge once Phantom swiped his hand, making the AT-RT fire, still standing at the machine. The Jedi ran forward, easily dodging the slow fire of the vehicle. He lunged forward and sliced the legs of the transport. Danny jumped down before it fell and their sword clashed again.

"So, where were we?" Phantom asked, before hearing multiple explosions.

He looked back and was stunned. There were two Umbaran aircrafts, which were shooting at his soldiers from behind.

"What in two worlds..."

Then he noticed something. They were piloted by clones, who had obviously stolen them. Krell, meanwhile, noticed that the back of the ghost was unprotected. He made a stab with both lightsabers, and hit the target. Despite the gasp of pain and surprise, Danny simply glanced at him in boredom.

"You have to be more precise," he noted, before pushing the tall toad away. Krell hit the glowing tree, and Danny whisked away to his troops, his wounds healing already.

Was that all a distraction? Either Krell was not as foolish as he had thought, or the clones acted on their own volition. Phantom had no time to muse over this. It wasn't hard to catch the aircrafts, their principle was that of a helicopter, so they hung in the air and fired. Danny jumped twenty meters in the air, right on top of one of them. He landed on the metal part, while the pilot sat in the spherical cockpit, surrounded by energy. The only way to take him out was to break the shielding. Umbaran masterpiece.

Phantom firstly tried to distract the clone. Quite simply. He stomped on the top of the shield loudly. The clone looked up, only to see the grinning ghost, who held the metal archway of the peculiar looking ship for support.

"Knock-knock!"

Danny shot at the fuel tank, or at least what he thought was a fuel tank. It created an explosion and completely fried the wiring. He was reluctant to destroy the valuable vehicle, but he had no time to waste as his soldiers were endangered. The shielding turned off and the machine went out of control. Phantom flew in the air and saw the clone jump off in the precise moment before the impact with the ground, remaining unharmed. Danny was going to have the guy's pelt, he decided, seeing the weaponless soldier pinned to the ground by one quite large legionary. He was going to be held as a hostage.

Phantom was about to pursue another one, but one of his wonderful soldiers fired an ion missile. The destabilized ions shut down the shields as well and caused the craft to fall. Danny descended to the ground, his shoulder cape waving neatly. The clone trooper got on his feet, and the entire upcoming ordeal was within the airbase. He took out a pistol from his belt and started firing. Danny didn't even use his lightsaber, simply dodging a few shots, before swatting the gun out of Fives' hand using the Force.

Phantom raised his hand, taking the clone in a firm grip in the air.

"Quite resourceful, are we?" He asked. "Nice plan, I admit. But you should have counted me."

"Let me go, scum!"

"Usually I kill for such words. I kind of get triggered each time," Danny said. "We will have a talk later. You got me curious."

Phantom bound the soldier by hands and legs, before returning to the field. The line was still standing, but it had retreated backwards. Just as planned. Danny put a hand on his ear.

"Lieutenant, the time has come. Execute order 77."

"Yes, sir."

The order was simple. It was directed towards the partisans in the area. They were supposed to attack from behind, completely surrounding what remained of that part of the legion. Locked in a narrow pass, there would be no place for the clones to retreat to. And that's exactly what happened. A large amount of the Umbarans leaped from the forests, accompanied by their vehicles. The Republican army was in for one nasty surprise. The ring around them shut, and Danny returned to the battlefield.

He coughed and used the Wailing ability to make himself heard across the large area.

"You have killed a lot of my soldiers, clone troopers, I give you that," Phantom flicked away the shot with his palm lazily, ignoring the stabbing pain. "I'm talking right now, have a decency," he complained. "I am merciful. You have my word that even Count Dooku himself won't be able to force me to execute you if you give up. You are exhausted, you are hungry, and your quick metabolism won't do you any good. Surrender, or be eliminated without any purpose whatsoever. Because your deaths would be pointless. My defenses shall remain unscathed."

"Five hundred and first does not surrender!" One of the clones shouted.

"Not to you, freak!"

Phantom's eye twitched visibly at the name. "The Republic is lucky to have such loyal slaves," he said. "But that's only the opinion of the two. What about the others? I'm willing to negotiate. Oh, General Krell himself decided to waltz in!" Danny continued, seeing the named Jedi approach him.

"Try to attack and you are dead, General," the ghost commented. "And I'll lose such a nice clone waster. Your saying..."

"We...surrender."

The clones could not disobey. They dropped the weapons and the shooting stopped. Umbarans and the cohort were ordered to stop. Danny was happy to stop this already, and he was going to go through with his promise. The clones were guarded within now empty hangers. They were happy to finally sleep calmly even on the cold floor, although some remained up because of suspicion. But no, the legionaries only sat on guard.

The battle on the other frontlines slowed down as well, their advance stopped. They still had to be eliminated, but Phantom wanted to save his friend. Obi-Wan was going to catch the interest of Dooku, and Danny would have to cede such a high-ranking officer. There was no telling about the fruitloopish old man's actions. He wanted to let the High General escape. Thankfully, Phantom got Krell's communicator. Danny dialed his friend's number.

"Yes?" Obi-Wan's hologram appeared, but the Jedi instantly froze when he saw who was holding the device.

"Hello, Ben," Danny leaned back in his seat, within his personal chambers with no foreign access. "Surprised?"

"What happened," the High General demanded to know.

"Krell lost. Pathetically. His troops are in my custody, and I wanted to discuss something."

"The price?"

"Nah, we'll agree with the Senate 'bout this. I recommend that you get out of here as soon as possible."

"Why so?"

"Because in twelve hours here will be my fleet and you won't be able to escape whatsoever," Danny smiled sweetly. "You are my friend, Ben, despite everything," he spoke seriously. "So I'm giving ya a chance."

"How do I know you aren't tricking me?"

"You want to test your luck and wait? Five hundred and first surrendered. You have a long way to the capital while you are being shot at and bombed. You have no chance of winning this fight. Leave, or I will have no other option."

Obi-Wan seemed conflicted. "What's with the soldiers?" He asked slowly.

"They are under my protection. You have my word. Usual soldiers are of no value to the Confederacy leadership. Officers...well...they have to be interrogated, such is the way of things. And don't tell me you don't interrogate our officials. After this, I'll let them go, I think. I have a droid for the job, he will do just fine."

"I'm not sure how to react," Obi-Wan mumbled. "Do we have time to think?"

"Twelve hours until the armada arrives. I can give you no more time to embark and get out."

"At least thanks for that...so this will be..."

"Another act of treachery, yes, yes. Ben, you are not my enemy. Not even your soldiers. It's your bureaucratic trash bin for a country. I want it to stop resisting and die in the corner to prevent many deaths...one die it is going to happen. Once I get my lovely toy operational."

"What do you..."

"Bye!"

Danny switched off the hologram and grinned. He wanted to spice things up a little. Let the enemy know that there was something they should sweep for. Well, flag to their hands. While waiting for the response, Phantom entered the special room where the prisoners were held. Since there were no prisoners but the clones and their general, Danny clapped loudly, and although the sound was numbed by his velvet white gloves, it was still heard.

"Rise and shine," Phantom said loudly.

"What do you want?" Someone asked.

"Familiar voice. Ah, wait, you all sound the same...oh, no, I remember you!" Danny approached the cell where Rex sat. "General Skywalker's second in command. Splendid."

"Like I'll tell you anything. Our last meeting taught me to keep my mouth shut."

"Oh, but I have someone whose specialty is to open them."

Danny snapped his fingers. Soon the room was filled with whirring noise, and it made even Phantom flinch.

"HK."

"Sweet tone: Yes?"

"Put away the vibro-drill, please, we are not on that stage yet."

Grunting, HK threw away the instrument.

"You are not going to break us with this," Fives crossed his hands.

Danny 'tsk'ed. "My planet has a lot of ways to torture, if you don't like this one. A spanish boot, which will turn your foot in a bloody mess, or maybe Chinese torture with water droplet. I heard the thing makes people bite their limbs off just to get out," Phantom said barely above a whisper, just to induce fear. "Although the latter won't help me with the information."

"Statement: I definitely have to learn more. Where shall I search?"

"Look on Terra. Kingdom of Spain has the Inquisition museums. Just buy a ticket to one."

"Query: Will they let me?"

Danny shrugged. "Why not? You pay the money, that's all. After this mess you can leave to the planet. Now, let's get to the job."

"Statement: You don't have to ask twice, Master."

"Let's get started. From the General."

Danny held a hand on his lightsaber, in case Pong Krell resisted. Surprisingly, he didn't, as HK was bringing the overgrown toad to the strapped chair.

"Query: Are you going to take part, Master?"

"You know I can't stand such things," Phantom muttered. "You do, I'm only asking questions."

"Suggestion: You can give me the list of questions and I can ask them if you want."

"No, I'm fine. I think."

Danny sat in front of Krell, while the droid put his hand on the lever, ready to send a few hundred bolts of electricity.

"Let's begin. The sooner the better. Tell me what you know about the movements in this sector."

"I don't think the binds are necessary."

Phantom snorted. "Tell this to my friend. He will get disappointed. Now, would you kindly..."

"You are not the type to go through the torture, eh?" Krell smirked. "Can't stand this level of violence?"

"No. I've just seen enough already," Danny said quietly. "However, you are unlucky that my companion has less morals than me."

At these words Krell shouted in pain as the electricity coursed through his body.

"I, of course, can choke the answer from you, but I doubt it's effectiveness," Danny said calmly.

"There is...no need," Krell panted. "We are on the same side, after all."

Everyone froze at this. Even HK almost dropped the lever he had been leaning on.

"YOU BLOODY TRAITOR!" Fives yelled, while his brother remained in shock.

Phantom raised his eyebrow. "I'm not easily convinced. Your acts of sending the soldiers to death could simply be a foolish strategy."

"I thought you were aware."

"Nnnnoooope. How can you prove it?"

"Ask Count Dooku. He knows."

Danny calmly pressed a button on the communicator he had taken from his pocket. Several seconds later, the image of the old man appeared.

"Daniel. What do I owe a call?"

"Simple, Count. This Jedi here claims to be your servant."

"Ah, yes, Master Krell. Good to see you," the man greeted. "I take it that the battle on Umbara is successful?"

"Indeed. We have to finish the rest, though."

"Once again your abilities come in a good use, General. You have my gratitude. Please, release Krell, his input was essential for this operation."

"Of course."

The transmission ended, and Phantom stared at the wall.

"Are you going to release me, now?" Krell asked impatiently.

With a wave of his hand, Danny unlocked him.

"Are you his apprentice? The rumors say so," the Jedi said.

"No. Why do you ask?"

The four-handed giant rose from the seat, "Less concurrency. Although I serve someone much more powerful through Dooku."

It spiked Danny's interest. "I have seen some cloaked man. Of course," he muttered. "'Two there should be. No more, no less. One to embody power, the other to crave it.'"

"What is that?"

"The rule of two, created by Darth Bane. Don't expect favors from the Count. Because both positions are occupied. You are expendable. And that's precisely why I never took his offer. He did ask a few times."

Krell snorted, "We'll see about that. The Sith Lord has a huge influence in the Senate. He is a powerful figure there," he said, before noticing two clones glaring at him, ready to choke him with their bare hands.

"You still here?" The Jedi asked, while Phantom still sat on his chair, approached by his droid.

"Better be here than on the side of the enemy," Rex responded as Fives spewed in disgust.

Phantom put a hand on his chin. He had a choice about what to do. Krell would be valuable to waste more clone troopers, which meant less deaths on his side. But it would mean empowering Dooku more, as the Sith would have an agent of his own within the temple. It was the advantage Danny wasn't willing to share. His strategic successes were based on this knowledge. Phantom made a decision.

"After we get out..."

"Get out?!" Krell barked a laugh. "You are not making it out of here, foolish child of a tube. Phantom, continue your interrogation. This one knows Skywalker personally, he must have heard something."

Danny shrugged, before rising from his seat. "Do you know who Genghis Khan executed first after the similar situation?"

Krell raised the eyebrow. "Who?"

Phantom glanced behind the alien's back and grinned toothily. "Those who betrayed and wanted to join him."

The Jedi's back was pierced by a multitude of blasts. He fell dead, and Danny sighed, briefly glancing at the stunned clones.

"It's becoming a routine," The ghost sighed.

"Addition: A very joyful routine, Master."

"Then you are the one carrying the corpse. I have something important to do."

HK cursed.


	57. Chapter LVII: The school and the tomb

The fuss Danny made around his daughter was enormous. And annoying, even for the girl herself, who loved him with all her heart. In that aspect even the exalted Emperor was not different from thousands of families all around the Empire. To see his child go to school for the first time, it happened once in a lifetime. And since the life was going to be quite long to say the least, he wanted to remember it forever. He was even ready to face the public opinion.

He was only worried for Dani. She was going to get mobbed by mosquitoes. To be a friend of an heiress of the enormous state, a daughter of the most powerful man in the Galaxy, many would kill for such an opportunity. It was a week before the beginning of the school year, and Phantom facepalmed multiple times for not coming up with the idea sooner. He sometimes forgot that his child was only a half ghost. After all, she was 'born' and always remained in the ghost form.

Danny tried to train her to change the forms, thankfully he still remembered how to do that. So that's why he was there, in Dani's bedroom. The bright light was coming through the tall windows, reflecting off the polished black marble walls.

"Alright, kiddo. It is simple, really," Phantom kneeled near her. "You do feel how you are cold on the inside?"

The girl nodded. "Yes, Daddy."

"Now close your eyes. Imagine a burning candle, with a small little flame," Danny mumbled quietly, seeing Dani following his instructions. "It isn't warm, it is cold. By blowing on it, you only become warmer."

She blew into his face. Phantom laughed quietly.

"Not in that way, dear. Imagine that the warmth explodes within your core. Release it."

Suddenly a loud whirring sound was heard. A ring of moonshine appeared around the ghost girl's waist. It split in two and traveled up and down, changing her appearance. The glow was gone. She had raven black hair and the eyes of the most vibrant ice blue color, shown after she opened them. Dani blinked, looking at herself. Of course she couldn't see any changes, even her blue hoodie and red shorts remained the same.

"Have I done it?" She asked in confusion.

Danny smiled broadly. "Yes, sweetie, you have. Go take a look at the mirror."

The girl ran off to one of the walls. Dani seemed confused about seeing herself like this. She started making gestures and even made a funny face in order to check if it really was her. Danny approached her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You look just like your old man," he commented softly. "When I could do this trick myself."

"Cool...Daddy, why are you teaching me this now?"

"You see...I'm worried about letting you there. I have already told you that. So if you look differently, I'll have less things to worry about. Just don't tell anybody about this. You will go under different last name, the teachers will know about who you are, but they are going to play along. Once you find trustworthy friends, you may tell them, and even invite them to come over. It shall be amusing to watch. But until then, not a word, am I clear?"

Dani nodded in understanding. Suddenly she squeaked and jumped.

"What's wrong?" Danny asked.

"There is something beating there!" The girl pointed at her chest.

The older ghost burst laughing. "That's not funny!"

"Darling, it's not like you feel the thing for the first time. It's your heart."

"But I don't have one! Mommy had, Ahsoka, too, but not me."

Phantom smiled at her, she was such a little angel. He was sure she would make a lot of nice friends. How anyone couldn't be charmed by her?

"You are unique, my girl. You are the only remaining half ghost in both worlds. That's why it was so simple for you to change forms so simple. You have heart now, because now you are human. Repeat the trick and you shall become a ghost again. Now, let's celebrate this discovery of yours."

The following day was surely interesting. Danny accompanied his child to the school. When he saw the building again, Phantom realized that the state funding didn't go in vain. A beautiful construction of glass and marble shone under bright morning light. It was a strange mixture, but it looked wonderful in a city filled with metal skyscrapers. There were grass lawns around the separated territory, even a small fountain was there.

Phantom had to congratulate the governor of Babylon for such wonderful work. Oh, wait, the capital was his responsibility.

'Congratulations me,' Danny thought.

He may have increased the funding. His girl was going to receive only the best. Phantom snapped from his thoughts when he saw Dani yawning. She was wearing the clothes according to the dress code. The outfit consisted of black shoes, black pants and suit above white shirt. The latter was only for the first time. There was also a grey skirt, which was swinging as Dani shifted impatiently on her spot.

Phantom himself was wearing long dark robes with a disguised appearance of a decent human being he used to be. He looked around curiously, Danny wasn't often facing things usual people did. Of course, he visited certain places, but like a person of undisputed and absolute authority, treated like such. Now he was incognito. The crowd formed around them, full of children's rambles and adults' conversations. Phantom couldn't help but smile. He really missed usual interactions.

Suddenly Danny felt something hitting the back of his head. He didn't move, but looked back, seeing a rubber ball jumping nearby. A small human boy ran to them, looking very embarrassed. He was soon followed by his, maybe, mother, after all, Zeltrons could have children with humans, and it wasn't forbidden. Her husband probably couldn't resist the pheromones.

"Zack, I told you not to throw the ball around!" The pink skinned woman scolded her son.

"But I was bored!" The six years old whined.

"I'm so sorry, sir," she apologized, looking at Phantom, whose smile was visible.

"Don't worry. I've had worse," he said jokingly. "Why bring it, though?"

"Zack wanted to keep it during the school day. He promised not to throw it around when inside."

Danny chuckled. "Children," he commented. "Our greatest blight and joy. Right, Dani?" He asked.

The girl only looked at him awkwardly, reddening slightly.

"I couldn't agree more," the woman admitted. "Strange clothes. Are you a Sith?"

"Strange associations you have. I could buy robes from some shady trader," Danny shrugged. "No, I'm not a Sith. I associate more with the Paladins of the Emperor."

"Really? Have you seen him in person, then?"

Phantom grunted. The conversation took the least pleasant route. "Yes, I have," he said curtly. "It was nothing but business - a mission in the Outer Rim," Danny quickly thought up a story.

"Is this your daughter? I thought you aren't allowed to have children."

"Those are rumors."

Danny's interrogation was stopped when the principal of the school started his speech. It was boring to say the least, but both Phantoms managed to live through it more or less. The students were let inside, accompanied by their teachers. Danny kneeled near his daughter, looking into her blue eyes with his neon ones.

"Well, that's it, sweetie. Your first day in school. Remember what I told you, and you shall be fine."

Dani nodded slowly. "Can't we just go home?" She asked.

"No, such mood won't do, little Phantom. Cheer up, you won't find anything you like if you don't try. Do you trust me?"

"I do, Daddy."

"Then go, if something happens, you can call me. Your teacher is out there. I'll come back for you later, okay?"

"If you say so..."

Dani went off, constantly glancing back until disappearing behind the glass doors. Phantom wiped a proud tear.

'If only your mother could see you,' he thought.

The ghost strolled away. He had his own job to do. But breakfast came first, he had seen a nice place on the way there. Being a freelancer in some way was nice. What made it more funny is Danny's understanding that no one recognized the most powerful man in the Galaxy, who was casually eating in some outdoor diner. Although some people were smarter than others, they occasionally stopped and stared at him for a while, although not recognizing the man holding a cup of coffee. Danny had plenty of free time, surprisingly even for himself, so he ventured to the slums.

The government could completely eradicate them. But it took time. First, the money were required to give these people decent housing, second, they needed time. The people used to live in their owners' basements, or other parts, but when the slavery was abandoned, they also lost roofs above their heads. In seven years they became much smaller, but there was still some work. It was nostalgic for Danny to stop crimes before the police arrived. But his time of relax was over soon.

The Emperor was once again a triumphant, after all. Obi-Wan took his advice and issued a retreat. The Senate was growing unhappy with how the war went. They had to pay the money, ransoming the clones was cheaper than making new ones. Danny was going to find a good use to the credits.

As many knew by that moment, Phantom used any small event to his advantage. He used his agents for some minor tasks, to enlist minor planets. He was like Sherlock, who took only the most peculiar cases for his entertainment. Danny felt a disturbance in the Force, and not that of the Light Side. This was definitely enough to spike his interest. What disappointed the ghost is that he wasn't able to exactly pinpoint the location. But the Intelligence was able to handle the matter and without his direct interference.

When Phantom went to retrieve Dani from the school, his communicator gave the same annoying sound. It wasn't going to happen daily when the ghost would be able to pick her up, but since it was her first day...he couldn't miss it. And here she was, running into his happy embrace.

"Hi, Daddy," she said.

"Hello, princess. Had any fun today?" Phantom asked.

The girl nodded excitedly, before going into a long tale which lasted until they arrived to the Palace. Danny listened with amusement about her little adventures. About how she got lost, but then found the road, about how cool it was to just put the food on the plate instead of waiting for a waiter. Phantom chuckled at this. If only he could feel so much joy because of such simple things as that. Children and their childish curiosity. Well, to honor such memorable day, he ordered the cooks to buy a cake for their small family party. Chocolate one, her favorite.

Even if she hadn't made friends yet, Danny knew that it was a matter of time. Even if she was shy by nature, Dani was a charming little angel once she opened up. It always took time, Phantom himself met his best friends by accident.

The older ghost couldn't rest forever. While the girl was doing her homework for his later inspection, Danny finally checked up the missed call. Instead of telling him directly, the report was made and downloaded in his datapad. Phantom read the information about the ongoings in the Council of Neutral Systems. The thing had been giving him a headache for a while. Instead of joining his side, the planets preferred to be there. A conglomerate of over fifteen hundred worlds weren't getting involved in the war, led by Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore.

Pacifists, Danny huffed. More so than even Jedi. Phantom had been trying to bring disorder into the organization, secretly, of course, but so far there weren't many occasions. He tried to put his puppet in charge of the Council, if not Mandalore itself, but Satine was way too popular figure. The Republic did one of its most vile things during the war. They embargoed the planet, claiming that the trade route was 'unreliable', sentencing the entire planet to starvation. Phantom offered assistance on this matter, but Satine feared that the act would become a valuable casus belli for the Senate. She didn't even know about the embargo until the Protectorate ambassadors told her. Nevertheless, it didn't damage her reputation.

Danny pitied her. She was a champion of her people, and obviously had their interests in mind. But Satine had picked the wrong planet, and for that job she was unfit.

And finally a wonderful opportunity arose. Just a day before Phantom got a report on his hands, a massive attack of different crime organizations, such as The Black Sun, The Pyke Syndicate, and many others mustered a strike force equal to that of the Hutts' and brought terror on Mandalore. And, of course, the guards weren't able to do anything.

The criminals were obviously intending something. They must have had a common goal. Keeper noted that that wasn't the style of these organizations. No, they specialized in smuggling and corruption schemes, not armed attacks at anyone but each other. Something was definitely wrong there. Phantom ordered to dig in deeper, but even the Imperial Intelligence wasn't as quick as the situation developed.

His main informers were within the Duchess's inner circle. Danny learned that the Prime Minister had been imprisoned for his dealings on the black market. Understandable, really, Almec had to somehow help his people, he had been smuggling food, and the corruption caused by it was an inevitable additional outcome. But what choice he had? The people were starving. Part of the food was imported by the special workers on cheaper prices. Those were Danny's employees. The Emperor wanted to help them, no matter what the Senate dogs and the Duchess thought.

Danny was rummaging through the list on his device when Dani ran into the room, a small stack of workbooks in her small arms, and a happy grin on her face. Phantom had to interrupt his work and quickly go through hers. It wasn't anything complicated: Math tasks about the purchase of fruits, counted in a column method, with which Dani managed, not to mention Galactic Basic language lesson, her inherited abilities came in handy. After it was done, Phantom smiled and ruffled the impatient girl's hair.

"Good job, kiddo, you may go and play now."

"Will you play with me?" She asked.

"A bit later, sweetheart, I have my job, too."

"Aww, okay."

Danny sighed and leaned back in his chair, as the little half ghost went out with her papers. He wondered how to act in such situation. He needed Mandalorian influence, not that barren wasteland itself. It required a very delicate approach. During that crisis of power one shall emerge to claim the place. Someone of higher authority. Phantom had an idea in mind, but the fertile ground for his plan appeared later, as he had decided to wait until the right moment.

She was overthrown by what seemed like a military junta. The Death Watch came in and stopped the criminals with their own force of arms. Where terrorist organization took the weapons was another issue. Danny finally realized who was involved. Of course, he had no proofs but weird behavior, but his suspicions were yet to be proved wrong. He himself used this scheme several times. The leader of the organization - Pre Vizla, of the ancient clan of Mandalorians, claimed to honor their past. Danny realized that that was his hour.

"Question: Have you called, Master?" HK asked, rumbling inside the dark wooden and black marble office.

"Indeed I have, my friend," Danny leaned forward on the table. "I have a question."

"Question: What kind?"

"How well is your memory? I mean to what moment exactly can you remember?"

"Answer: My memory banks erase anything of no value, documents I've read and such. Aside from that, I remember many things since my Old Master created me."

"Even about how defeated the Mandalor?"

"Clarification: I was not present during the event, but I was ordered to hide his mask so as not to let their army rally behind another leader."

"Revan's order is long overdue."

"Confusion: What do you...oh."

Danny only grinned innocently.

"Realization: You...you want to become the new Mandalore?"

"Call me Mandalore the Immortal," Phantom smirked, rising from his seat. "But I need the mask to prove my point to them. And hide my face."

"Sarcasm: Don't you have enough titles already?"

Danny shrugged. "One can't have too many. So...do you know where it is?"

"Korriban."

Phantom blinked. The surroundings turned blue, there was a gold necklace on his neck, and it could mean only one thing. Danny looked to the side and saw Clockwork sitting on a chair.

"What could it possibly do there, Stopwatch?" Phantom deadpanned.

"A greeting would have been nice," Clockwork sighed, his age regressing. "Maybe I put it there, maybe not. In any way, the mask is there."

"Oh, it is one of your 'oh-so-important-foreseeing' plans, I get it."

Clockwork got up from his seat. "You do know I tolerate your rude behavior only because I let you?"

"Read my mind, you love it, Old Man," Phantom narrowed his eyes. "Yes, I've gotten quite a nasty trait of holding a grudge, and it will take a long while until I forget everything."

The Time Master sighed. "It is in the tomb, coordinates of which are in your datapad."

"Why such generosity?" Danny raised his eyebrow.

Clockwork didn't respond. He simply vanished, and the stopped time was no more.

"Admission: I am not aware about where it is now, Master."

"But I am now," Said Phantom, looking at the datapad. "I'm leaving to Korriban. Alone, I suppose."

It was simpler than Revan's attempt. The ancient Jedi was being tracked by the Sith who owned the planet. Phantom, on the other hand, was their Emperor, the prophetic chosen one. It made everything easy, he was given everything required for his journey to the lands the Sith weren't able to recolonize yet. Those which were looked nicer, as the red skinned humanoids had erected their stone cities and temples. Despite the technological advances, they still preferred rocks over metal in architecture. Their migration to the home-world was encouraged, but it was still going.

Through the lands filled with the lifeless desert, he went. There weren't many indications of life, but the occasional lizard sneaking from one point to another. Where it took food Phantom didn't know, and didn't want to think about under the blazing sun. Finally Danny reached a huge valley.

The Emperor was reminded about the Valley of Kings in Egypt. Numerous statues were enacted in the walls of the rock path, and Danny knew that behind the huge stone doors lied tombs of the ancient Sith Lords. According to the coordinates, the entrance to the tomb he needed was right...there. Phantom approached the huge door. He attempted to go through, but only hit it, hissing afterwards.

"Stupid space magic," he cursed.

It was Force enchanted, even ghosts weren't able to phase through. Phantom had to use the less delicate approach. He moved his hand, and it started to slid open, slowly and loudly, tons of sand and dust falling down. Danny went inside and was greeted by utter darkness. Phantom raised his palm and ignited it. But it proved to be unneeded. The torches started to shine across the large cavern. Danny shrugged. He removed the light on his palm, but then put on the headphones. He wanted to repeat the thing done at the movie he watched. And since it was a tomb...

Ooga-chaka Ooga-Ooga

Ooga-chaka Ooga-Ooga

I can't stop this feeling

Deep inside of me

Girl, you just don't realize

What you do to me

When you hold me

In your arms so tight

You let me know

Everything's all right

At the loud and continuous 'ah' and a drum accord Phantom started to move along with the tune. It was fun, he had to admit.

I'm hooked on a feeling

I'm high on believing

That you're in love with me

Despite paying attention to the music, he was aware about the surroundings. He kept going through the cavern, and it caught his interest that a huge swarm of leathery beasts flew down from the ceiling. But their screeches were unheard.

Lips are sweet as candy

It's taste stays on my mind

Girl, you got me thirsty

For another cup of wine

Got a bug from you, girl

But I don't need no cure

Phantom's hand flicked with electricity, before he unleashed lighting, still following the tact of the music, slowly spinning in a circular motion with outstretched arms and a smirk on his face. He calmly kept walking.

I just stay affecting

As the creatures fell dead around him.

If I can for sure

All the good love when we're all alone

Keep it up girl

Yeah, you turn me on

Repeated moment of the song repeated again, and Danny turned around the stalagmite. Feeling the ground shake. He had called the attention of a terentatek. Terentateks resembled rancors, although smaller (approximately five meters) except they had a number of spines growing from their backs and a pair of flaps, or tusk-like projections attached to their mouths. They also had massive claws (four to a hand). The creature ran forward, trying to stomp the prey.

I'm hooked on a feeling

I'm high on believing

That you're in love with me

The beast ran through the ghost, hitting the wall instead. During the ordeal Danny was yet to open his eyes and stop singing along quietly. He simply flicked his hand and the rock was torn from the ceiling and fell on the creature, piercing it effectively.

All the good love

When we're all alone

Keep it up girl

Yeah, you turn me on

I'm hooked on a feeling

I'm high on believing

That you're in love with me

I'm hooked on a feeling

And I'm high on believin'

That you're in love with me

I said I'm hooked on a feeling

And I'm high on believin'

That you're in love with me.

His boyish laughter filled the cavern as Danny put away the device. It was simply priceless. He just entered the tomb of who knows what Sith Lord and literally waltzed through. Phantom found another stone door, but this time it opened easier. He went inside. The corridor was more civilized looking, and Danny phased off the sand through his clothes. He hated it, it got everywhere.

Phantom didn't know how deep he went, but it took quite a while. The place reeked of the Dark Side, but there was nothing he could do. He could resist the corruption just fine, for a very long amount of time. Finally he reached another room. It was empty, lit through the hole in the ceiling. The spot where the light fell to was just begging to step into. Wondering what it was, with peaked curiosity he stepped on it. The plate turned out to be pressable. Instantly the trap sprung out and Danny fell downwards and yelped. He saw magma downwards.

"Seriously?" He asked, before steadying himself in the air. Phantom calmly floated out and landed on the solid ground, dusting his clothes and shoulder cape. "To sacrifice the floor for one single trap. What a waste of resources."

"Not everyone can fly, you know?"

Phantom looked to the side and saw a Force ghost sitting on the edge of the fallen column. She was just as silvery blue, dressed in tight robes, with long messy hair and double tattoos going through her eyes.

"The thing won't work twice," Danny commented, putting a hand on the handle of his lightsaber, just to put his hand somewhere. "And it's not like they offer service to the long dead Sith."

"You are right," the woman said with a slight chuckle. "Aren't you afraid?"

The stark haired man snorted. "Lady, I've seen more ghosts than you will ever face."

"Hm...interesting," she approached him. "And what handsome man am I having honor speaking with?"

"You first."

"I thought you knew that when you entered my tomb. Darth Zannah. A pleasure."

"Daniel Phantom."

"That's all?"

"If I start telling my titles, we will stay here for a while," Danny rolled his neon eyes. "I didn't come here to talk."

"Really now? Why then?"

"I was told by my...mentor in some way...that here I can find the mask of Madalore. I need it."

"What for?"

"The situation is quite interesting out there. I was hoping to seize the planet."

Zannah smirked. "Hm, I like your way of thinking, handsome. Follow me."

Phantom did so, watching her with close attention. He was on alert, expecting something. Then a thought occurred in his mind.

"I didn't know that the followers of Darth Bane made fancy tombs."

The Sith Ghost stopped. "How do you..."

Danny smirked, drumming on the handle of his lightsaber. "I know quite a lot. I know many steps your Order has made ever since Ruusan Reformation, although I'm not aware about the doings after your apprentice's student. They became even more secretive."

Zannah huffed. "Master would have been proud," she said sarcastically.

They entered another circular room, and as they were passing it, Danny stopped abruptly. A gust of air came out of his mouth, and the ghost activated the lightsaber, turning around, swinging and stopping it in seemingly midair.

"This won't trick me. Show yourself," Phantom demanded.

"Impressive," a raspy metallic voice sounded, before a figure appeared on the receiving side of the sword. "Both the reaction and the weapon."

Danny instantly recognized who the person was. He was wearing something between the tight suit and robes, with a long cape behind, his head was bald, and a half of his face was hidden behind a metal device, probably for breathing. There was a blue-grey tattoo on the visible part.

"Thank you, Malak," Danny put away the weapon. "It's like I'm back home again. I didn't expect to see you here."

"The Sith Emperor appreciated my efforts. They 'buried' me in the Valley properly. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Phantom sighed dramatically and rubbed his face. "Am I going to explain myself to everyone? Do you have tea here together or what?"

"Careful with your words," Zannah warned. "We are not harmless, although we are dead. We haven't done anything because it gets boring around here."

"And how many of you are here?"

"Just as many as the tombs. But we are the ones who haven't gone mad from the time spent here."

"So...where can I take the mask? I am short of time really."

"It's indeed in our possession."

That voice was louder and lower. Danny looked to the side again. There was a huge ghost, a Sith specie, dressed in ceremonial cloak, which hid everything but the head beneath. There was a huge horned crown on it. There were no legs, he was floating above the ground.

"The question is, why shall we give it to you?"

"Because I am patiently asking," Danny said calmly, "After all, wouldn't you assist a fellow Sith?"

The giant laughed. Phantom knew who it was as well. Marka Ragnos, the Dark Lord who brought a golden age to Korriban and the Sith outer domains. And who helped the ascendance of many famous Sith Lords in the future.

"Boy, the Dark Side is subdued within you. You are not a true Sith."

"Yeah, but I am in charge of the entire Sith race," Danny smiled innocently. "I wouldn't have led them if there was no reason."

"They were exterminated," Zannah said, crossing her hands. "Where did you take them?"

"Just found them on the God forgotten planet. It was within my power to reclaim their planet."

"And where did the power come from?" Malak asked with an inquisitive look. "You are not a Jedi, that much is obvious."

Danny smirked, realizing what was coming. "In a way...I'm a Revanite."

It was common for the Sith and Jedi call the balanced Force users that. Revan was the one to combine them, to revive the balanced point of view. The Sith condemned it as heresy, hunting down those who followed. The Jedi were none the better, they banished the Revanites. But Malak looked extremely pissed.

"Revanite?!"

"Oh, look who is triggered," Danny teased. "Still sore that your Master killed you?"

"Don't push it, boy," Malak growled. "Are we supposed to help you when you belong nowhere?"

"Tsk, tsk," Phantom tapped on his chin with a fanged grin. "Even my parent won't change your mind?"

"Who can it possibly..."

"Vitiate."

The Sith ghosts froze. They all stared at him in a grave silence. The mere atmosphere seemed to grow colder at the mention of the man they feared and respected. There were some less famous ghosts who stood by side and remained unnoticed for a while, simply observing the scene, also shocked.

"He died millennia ago," Ragnos said. "Such an aspiring young man, I recall. Enslaved his planet at the age of ten and I granted him the title of the Lord. How can you be his child and how are you going to prove it?"

"I have achieved something all of you seeked and failed to obtain - immortality. I will live forever, and all of this without the planet-murdering ritual. Father was not eternal, he simply lived for centuries. I, on the other hand, am able to. So it shouldn't be of any surprise to you. Moreover. I am his inheritor in many things. In but five years I have created the Empire which now rules half of the entire Galaxy, including the lands to the west. Half of the Republic is ruled by my more public persona, where I am proclaimed a secessionist dictator. The Republic will fall. If not because of corruption I use for my advantage, then because of the Star Forge."

"It is destroyed," Malak grumbled.

"I repaired it," Phantom shrugged as if it was nothing at all. "I simply see what father couldn't. And look where it got me. This is why I cannot be considered a Sith, because I'm sometimes too soft. For alien races, for the weak, the abandoned. But I assure you, I can be quite destructive once I'm pissed off. I killed my adoptive parents because they were a bunch of assholes. I destroyed several Coruscantian districts when I was trying to kill the man I purely hated."

Suddenly Ragnos laughed again. "Damn, you either inherited Vitiate's cunning tongue or you are the greatest liar there is. Maybe we will give the mask to you."

"If what?" Danny deadpanned.

"If you prove your words by defeating us."


	58. Chapter LVIII: Mandalore is ours

To the surprise of the Sith, Phantom grinned widely.

"Oh, well, let's see if you are as good as you are told to be."

The ghosts only turned on their lightsabers. Ragnos, however, simply stood by, watching what was about to happen. And if the boy in front of him was indeed the son of Vitiate, he was in for a show. Danny activated his own blade, swinging it in a fencing inviting gesture - first parallel to his body, then away from it, to the side. Once again his left hand remained free. The Sith Lords noted the unusual choice of style.

Malak was the first to strike. With a roar he lunged forward, swinging his lightsaber. Phantom easily blocked it. And a number of the followed strikes, acting fast, while retaining the grace. Danny saw Zannah trying to attack him from the side. A jump back, and the blocked swing. Phantom attempted to counterattack, but she blocked the attack again. They were ghosts as well, yes, but Phantom's strength was still bigger.

Danny vanished in the shadows, seeing as another attack was about to come from behind, his senses told as such. He reappeared a few meters away, making a stab. The attack was blocked, and the stark haired ghost was pushed away, and Danny was forced into defensive. He was still holding, but Phantom didn't have any opportunities but to defend himself. The transparent blade of his was sparking with each impact, jumping from one lightsaber to another, protecting its wielder. Phantom clenched his free hand and fired at Zannah's chest. As she screamed and flew backwards, Danny smirked, despite having to block a hit.

"It always works. If they have two hands," he commented to his opponent.

Phantom teleported a few meters away, but didn't even blink, before having to intercept another strike. His new opponent had an offsetting appearance. Very long pitch black robes with a hood, a skull mask with hollow eyes, split in two. Danny should have seen the lower part of the head, but it was just as unseen.

"Lord of Hunger himself. Wow, it's an all-star party."

Nihilus didn't say a word. He launched the teen backwards into the column.

"Ouch."

Ragnos rubbed his temples. The kid just couldn't keep his mouth shut. Danny rolled away from the lightsaber slice and leaped on his feet, the lightsaber flying into his hand. As Phantom retreated back under the rain of Zannah's attacks, he seemed just as calm.

"Hey, Nihilus! How come you don't get obese after devouring planets? Just curious!"

"Just shut up already!" Zannah exclaimed, exasperated at the yet impenetrable defense.

"Oh, where did all welcomeness go?" Phantom pouted. "And here I wanted to have a sleepover."

She roared and fired lighting. Phantom deflected it, but then Nihilus used his famed ability. Life draining. However, as the crimson beam hit the stark haired man, Danny grinned.

"Can't drain life from someone who doesn't have any!" He laughed.

Phantom teleported behind Zannah and made a stab.

It went through the body, and Danny realized that the Force ghosts could be transparent to everything, because the ectoplasm was a little to none with in their bodies. Phantom had to block the multiple attacks, while hearing Ragnos laugh.

"What are you going to do now, boy?"

To the further surprise, Phantom simply whisked on a distance, put away his lightsaber and cracked his knuckles.

"Ghosts demand a special touch," Danny smirked, before his palms glowed with crimson color.

He started hurling beams of energy at the ghosts, thus maintaining distance. Danny launched a blast, but then calmly moved his palm, making it take a U-turn and hit Malak in the back. He cried in pain and stumbled forward. Phantom swung his hands and made a shield around himself, grinning innocently as the lightings hit it to no avail. Ragnos snorted. The kid was toying around, if he hoped to impress him, than the boy was wrong. No, he wasn't trying to impress the Sith. It was simply fun.

Danny then jumped through the floor. Now the Sith realized that the displayed abilities were not the product of the Force, neither of the sides. And it was rather curious. Some of his powers were similar to theirs, but they couldn't make shields. Suddenly Phantom emerged from the ground, but there was a strange device on his wrist now. It wasn't bigger than a bracelet. It actually was like a bracelet, with only a cylinder not bigger than a thimble.

"Alright, show is over," Danny tapped on the device in several places. "You see, I expected to encounter some ghosts."

The device glowed brightly. The ghosts tried to apprehend before god knows what happened, but Phantom raised his eyebrow and they were held tightly in place.

"Let me present you...I haven't thought up a name yet."

A white vortex emerged from the device, and the room filled with loud screams. The blinding light was gone, so were the ghosts, for the exception of Ragnos, who stared wide eyed.

"What kind of technology is this?"

"Simple. The people who were raising me...and whom I've killed...well, I picked some things. I modified their technology. Your friends are inside the device which used to be the size and shape of a thermos."

"This is not how the fight was supposed to go," the Sith growled.

Danny shrugged. "Maybe. You have something against my toy?" Phantom pointed his hand at the ghost.

Ragnos tried to destroy the thing by smashing it, but the material was too hard to break that easily.

"Careful. There is no telling what's going to happen if you break it. The others may not survive."

"Fine. Do whatever you want," Ragnos grumbled. "I am yet to see your power."

"I destroyed several districts of Coruscant as a collateral damage. The entire Republic knows what I am capable of. I caused the massive disturbance in the Force when I have shown myself to the Galaxy several years ago. You need proofs? I'm not lying, I think you can sense this. Now. I need the Mask."

"Fine. Release them at once."

Phantom pressed a button on the bracelet and the ghosts were hurled out of it.

"This. Is. So. Humiliating," Zannah growled.

"I'll KILL THIS BRAT!" Malak exclaimed, getting up.

Nihilus disappeared somewhere. Damn, the guy was quick.

"Enough, Malak. He won," Ragnos commanded.

Despite the Sith being power-hungry, they didn't go against the authority of the ancient Lord. Danny meanwhile was laughing internally. He really should have brought HK. They would have laughed their asses together. He was definitely going to tell him. Still, there was also a certain degree of fanboying. Danny just defeated the Sith Lords like they were nothing. Granted, they were weaker, for some reason, but it was still awesome.

Danny coughed to get their attention.

"Shall we go?"

They did. After a while of walking through the sandy corridors of the ancient construction, they reached a special huge room, filled with all sorts of treasures. The ghosts were happy that the man just shut up. They were quiet only because they didn't want to be stuffed back into that thing again. Phantom sensed their anger, but payed no attention to their emotions. He simply went forward, looking through the mountains of aurodium and Sith artifacts.

Soon Danny found what he was looking for. The mask was made of the bronze-like metal, battered from time and battles. There were three dark glasteel lines coming from the center, which allowed the wearer to actually see the surroundings. Danny tossed it around in his arms, before looking at the Sith ghosts.

"Thank you for assistance."

"You aren't going to take anything else?"

"I have enough artifacts as it is. I can open a museum in my palace. And I am already the richest man in the Galaxy. No need to bother myself with junk."

"This isn't 'junk!'"

"I learned to value what I have and not desire something I won't need."

"Your father is spinning in his grave."

"A disgrace."

Danny grinned. "Thanks for the compliment. If I could sully his grave more, and if he had one, I would have done it again."

"And you claim to be his heir?" Malak crossed his hands.

"His being is no more than a tool in my hand. Zakuul bowed to me, the Sith did."

"You are a strange one. So much hatred and so much restraint. Admirable," Ragnos noted, although without enthusiasm.

"I am in balance, that's all. Yet I have achieved more than you could ever hope to get."

"We all thought so at our lifetime," Interrupted Malak.

"But I am different. The times are different. Is it so hard to believe? Although your opinion will change very little, believe what you want. Farewell, it has been an honor nevertheless."

Danny bowed his head slightly, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke. It probably wasn't his last visit, for their knowledge was big. But he had no time, he had lost enough.

As the Emperor returned to the capital, he read the report about the ongoing events on Mandalore. His loud cursing could be easily heard, thankfully Dani was at school and didn't witness his tantrum. It seemed that while he was gone, another coup happened on the planet. Pre Vizla was murdered in a 'fair' combat by a Sith of all people. Phantom wasn't the only one to come up with the idea.

It was amazing how swift the Imperial Intelligence worked. Phantom surely was right to put Keeper in charge of it. He was the initiative guy. The second the Sith appeared, the info of him was put on the monarch's table. His origin was unknown, there was only the name and the race - Maul. He was a Zabrak, but from what planet he didn't share. It seemed scarce at first, but Danny also learned that he had been seen on Naboo thirteen years ago. There the Sith killed Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, but lost his legs and fell down the large hole because of his Padawan - Obi-Wan Kenobi. Ah, magnificent, the man certainly wouldn't miss the opportunity.

The appearance also solved the mystery the Intelligence had been working hard to uncover. The Crime Syndicates' unification in one force now was completely justified and explained. That was the man who either convinced or forced them into obedience. It was foolish to think that such influential organizations would remain without Phantom's attention. Especially if some of their leaders were so easy to bribe.

As for the Sith himself, Danny's plans remained the same. He would beat the crap out of anyone who occupies the seat of Mandalorian leader. It was even better. Phantom would get both the syndicates and the Council of Neutral systems.

For that purpose he ordered to make himself an armor, incorporating the mask in there. It retained the old battered look. The armor was made from the special material, found only on Mandalore and its moon. Beskar was very durable, but scarce and goddamn expensive. Moreover, only the locals knew how to make naturally weak material like that. Money talked, and they convinced one of such specialists to go through with the order from unknown buyer.

Meanwhile on Mandalore the many times mentioned Sith was occupied, preparing the plans of his own. Maul looked quite...devilishly. He had red skin, with a vast multitude of black tattooed lines across his face. The typical Zabrak horns on his head could prove to be a dangerous weapon, despite being short. He was wearing black tight robes, and his legs were but metal ones. At the moment he was looking at the holographic map of the Galaxy.

"Brother, did you call me?"

Maul turned his red-orange eyes towards the entrance. The resemblance between the two could be noticed after a second glance, but the other's skin was yellow, and the horns were longer. He was wearing a heavy and seemingly bulky black armor. A double lightsaber was on his belt.

"Yes, Savage. I believe it is time for us to grow."

"What do you suggest."

"With Mandalore in our grasp, our crime friends want more. We could establish our positions on the North."

"North?"

"Do I sense fear in you, brother? What do you have to be afraid of?"

"These are Protectorate territories."

"Yes, I heard of them. Is this supposed to stop me?"

"For each of your criminals Lord Phantom can put ten of his soldiers. They are in charge of security there. Not droids."

"Who gave him the title? He himself?" Said Maul in a mocking tone.

"You underestimate his power."

"I saw him, Savage. He is but a boy."

"The boy who doesn't suffer defeats."

"The one who fell on his knees and cried in front of everyone."

"After collapsing several skyscrapers," Savage finished. "It wasn't even his intention."

"Even more weak, he is. If he cannot control the devastating power he possesses, it will eventually destroy him."

"It will happen AFTER he vaporizes us. And, he is allies with Mother Talzin."

That made Maul freeze. Now that was unexpected.

"What?" He asked.

"The Nightsisters spy for him, sometimes assassinate those he wants to be dead. Several senators on each side were killed. Some assassins from competing side as well. He is especially keen on protecting Bonteri family. They seem to be friends."

"What does Mother gain from this?"

"He gives them the Water of Life. Even Talzin doesn't know where he takes barrels of them. It is more powerful than they could imagine. And for a brief moment, I even sensed fear when she talked about him. Like she knows something about him."

Maul put a hand on his chin. He shouldn't doubt Talzin's judgement.

"We shall wait, then."

Little did he know, that Phantom had diametrically opposite opinion.

Finally, it was ready. The armor looked exactly like that of Mandalores of old. It looked a bit like medieval one, with long crimson cape behind. In order to hide the person behind the mask, Danny also needed to win without his unique powers and Force abilities. So the armor had a few nasty surprises for the enemy. The plan was ready to be set in motion. Danny had no time to waste anymore.

After putting the entire outfit on Phantom got to Mandalore via his teleportation. The city looked peculiar. As the planet had become a wasteland, the settlements were based within huge domes, where tolerable conditions were kept. Quite a philosophic view. But Phantom didn't come there to be the second Socrates. The architecture was cubic, and the infrastructure was that of stereotypical futuristic city. Trees, a lot of white.

However, there was also a lot of destruction, near the city center especially. Those were remnants from all the mess which had happened. And as far as Danny knew, the criminals were operating quite well nowadays. He was going to make sure to eradicate them all without a trace of mercy.

Danny became invisible, cursing about how uncomfortable the armor was. He got used to light robes, which weighted almost nothing and didn't bother his movements. He also had to care about constant clanking of metal. Phantom got to the side entrance. Unnoticed, he became visible. Danny went forward through the corridors. He encountered the first guards. They were wearing black and blue armor, with helmets similar to his. It wasn't hard to notice Phantom's figure.

"Hey, stop right there! What are you doing here?"

"Typical question and typical answer. Are you going to let me to your so called leader or am I going to get a warm up?"

His voice was twisted by the mask, making him sound even more threatening.

"Are we supposed to be afraid of the guy in a masquerade cos...?"

Before he could even blink, Phantom took a blaster and fired. The man fell dead after blaster bolt hit the junction of the armor. The other took a blaster rifle, but then got kicked in the helmet and felt the weapon pointed at his head.

"I hope you are smarter than that. Now, where is that Sith sitting?"

"You mean Maul? He is in the throne room. He had caught some Jedi while he was trying to help the Duchess escape. I don't know what he is planning but they are there."

"Good. You may go," Danny removed the weapon.

However, once he did that, the Mandalorian pressed the trigger. But beskar did its job. Narrowing his eyes behind the mask, Phantom hit the bastard's head. Hard. Knocked out, the man fell on the ground, unconscious. Danny got the information he needed. He went through the bright, windowed halls, which were surprisingly clean, before reaching the big doors, guarded by two soldiers. Those were red armors, with black marks and even small zabrak-like horns around the top. Phantom didn't have time to exchange words. Two shots, and the guards were gone.

Finally, Danny barged the doors open with a thunderous voice, becoming the center of attention. Everyone present stared at him, including the main star of the show. Phantom heard whispers, they obviously recognized the artifact on his face.

"I must say, I expected something more," Phantom said dryly.

Near the walls stood more soldiers. In the center was kneeling Obi-Wan, wearing the same armor as the soldiers. He had probably tried to disguise. There was a throne, and near it was held the former duchess. She was in her early thirties, with blonde hair and blue eyes. She was on her knees as well, bound by legs and hands, dressed in black dress. The main object of interest for the ghost was the man sitting on the throne. Danny apparently stopped him from killing the duchess, judging from the pose and unleashed weapon.

Probably replacing the ones Obi-Wan had chopped off. Danny couldn't resist a small laughter at seeing them.

"Who the hell are you?" Maul growled.

"The one whose place you are occupying with your shiny metal ass."

"Brother, do you need me to get rid of this bother?"

"God, you are a poet," Phantom noted, seeing, another, yellow Zabrak. "I didn't come here to exchange poetic works. Darth Maul."

He took a long blade of dark metal and swung it in his arm. Phantom pointed it at the Sith.

"I challenge you for the place of Mandalore!"

"I don't have time now," Maul spat.

"This is not how it works, Maul."

One of the soldiers stepped forward. She took off her helmet, showing a redhead with light green eyes.

"Being the Mandalore means that you have to accept every challenge," the woman said. "Right there and now."

"Fine. You will regret it," Maul looked at Phantom, narrowing his orange-red eyes.

He activated his lightsaber. Danny immediately realized that he wanted it in his collection. It was a complete opposite of his own blade, completely black, with white outline. It even had the same shape as Danny's. Phantom took a battle stance, his crimson cape flying behind. The soldiers stood aside, knowing that the fight was going to get nasty.

"Try me, Darth Chicken-legs."

Obi-Wan couldn't help but snort, even despite his predicament.

Maul roared and lunged forward. Their blades crossed, but then the Sith's just sparked and shut down. Everyone stared.

"Cortosis does wonders," Phantom grinned under the helmet.

The Sith roared again and pushed the opponent into the wall, using the force. It cracked, but the armor didn't. Phantom landed on his feet, preparing to defend himself. Cortosis had shut down Maul's lightsaber, temporary, but he was still weaponless. That's why the Sith engaged in a hand-to-hand combat. Danny wondered how he was planning to get through the armor. He got his response when after blocking another hit, the three fingered metal leg hit him hard.

Phantom grunted, but landed on his feet. Maul pulled Danny's dropped blade into his hand and sliced it. The sword was stopped between his hands, and Phantom held it firmly. Maul was pushing forward, but the ghost could use his strength as unsuspicious exception. Not willing to break the weapon, Danny moved the sword aside with one hand, reaching for the blaster with another. Seeing this, Maul charged the lighting in his hand. They attacked simultaneously, the blaster bolt burning the edge of the Sith's hand and the lighting jumping around the metal armor. The fiber dielectric beneath protected the ghost.

Hissing from pain, Maul lunged again.

"It's time you give my weapon back," Danny said when he had to block the hits with his Beskar bracers.

When Maul made a stab, Phantom managed to snatch the blade by pulling it, as the Sith didn't anticipate the bold move. Besides, the strength was something to behold. Danny pushed the sword higher so as to hold the grip, not the blade itself. He swung it, but Maul jumped away. The Zabrak clenched his fist, and the ghost could feel the attempt to choke him. He resisted the urge to laugh, before going into offensive. They were close to the wall, and Phantom wanted to corner the opponent, but Maul wasn't that stupid.

He attempted to get away, but the slash prevented him from going to the right. Maul used the push again, seeing that the Force lighting was ignored easily. This time Phantom was prepared and stood his ground firm, thanks to the emerged spikes in his boots. They pinned him to the ground and didn't let him fly away. Once Maul was done, Phantom jumped, roared and slashed. The following action was unexpected by many. Seeing that Maul was about to escape, Danny ran forward and pushed them both through the tall window, breaking it in the process.

The flight was long, and each of the duelists acted differently. Danny could fly, yes, but he couldn't show it. That's why he had put a special feature. Inside the boots were special engines for flight. Flames erupted from there. It wasn't enough to allow such a heavy figure to fly, but now Phantom could justify his ability. He slowed down the fall and landed on one of the big balconies. Maul used his metal legs to claw into the wall. The debris and dust flew everywhere, but he managed to stop falling. He saw a blaster pointed at him from the masked man, so he used all his strength to kick off from his place and land near the ghost in disguise.

Phantom made another slash, leaving cracks on the solidified glass floor. Maul guessed that his sword could work by then. He had previously returned it to his belt, right before the fall. But first he had to get rid of that damn cortosis. Maul jumped and swiped his leg. Danny had to duck, but the Sith managed to clench the clawed hand and toss away the blade, to the endless abyss of modern city. Then the Zabrak took his lightsaber and activated it again. He started swiping it, making unusual sounds.

Several soldiers of the Death Watch were flying nearby on their jetpacks, observing everything from the safe distance. They were interested to say the least. Phantom moved away from the Sith, jumping in the air and taking blasters. He started constantly firing, but each blue blaster bolt was deflected. Danny expected as such, but you can't blame brother for trying. He tossed the blasters at Maul, who easily chopped them in half.

Phantom landed on the ground, the glass beneath breaking further. The force of impact and shaking caused Maul to stumble, but only for a slim second. He ran forward, but a small object emerged from the gauntlet. Danny grinned and clenched his fist, which activated the flamethrower. The Mandalorians weren't surprised. They had always been using it against the Force Users. Phantom, however, was simply following the advises from HK's guide.

Maul jumped over the opponent, but Danny swiftly turned around and forced the opponent to get away. The Sith clenched his fist and the device broke. Thanks to the safety measures, it didn't cause an explosion.

"You are quite expensive to beat," Danny joked. "Well, I hope your pelt costs more."

"I was trained by the most powerful being in the Galaxy, I am not going to be beaten," Maul spat.

Phantom snorted. "Who that will be? Cranky old man with asthma? Sounds like the Chancellor, though."

Danny was confused when he saw an extremely faint surprise Maul's eyes. It appeared after the last sentence. Weird. He didn't have time to think, however, because Maul attacked again. This time Danny had more nasty surprise. The killing way number twenty seven said:

As had been mentioned above, everything not solid is perfect to fight the Jedi. In case you shall relent to the poisonous gases, remember that they are able to not breathe for a long amount of time - more than enough to kill you. This is why, relying on my personal experience, I recommend using phosphorus elements, those which stick to the skin. They don't have anything against that, especially if they are wearing their usual robes. The stuff is hard to wash off.

Phantom hurled a grenade under his legs, right before Maul struck. Being ghost had own advantages, although the other wearer of this armor was from then on cursed to death. Danny made several steps and heard Maul scream. The pain was equal to that of sulphuric acid. Phantom grinned. He'd have to thank his droid later. The Sith swiped away his hand and the cloud flew away. He was panting heavily, his muscles twitching occasionally. However, he was still standing.

"You are already a goner," Phantom commented. "I'm a bit tired of this game."

He heard a loud roar. The yellow skinned Zabrak ran at him, the twin lightsaber ablaze. The ghost sighed and moved away, grabbing a very long hilt of the opponent's weapon. Using his strength, Danny twisted the weapon. No one noticed him pressing the activation button using the Force. One blade deactivated, leaving him unharmed. However, the opposite one made a 180 degrees turn. Savage had a misfortune to be on the way. Now there were two of them.

"Looks like it is family trait from now on," Danny grinned, referring to the lost legs. Savage fell dead. "Thanks for the lightsaber, however."

"I'll...I'll KILL YOU!" Maul screamed, somewhat hysterically.

"Sorry, you have gone back from the dead once. It's not going to happen again, I'll watch this personally."

Phantom raised his weapon above him.

"Go on, finish this now. I shall be avenged."

Danny stopped, before looking at the flying Death Watch. "Are you going to be that people?" He asked.

No one made a move.

"Seems like you don't have anyone. I doubt that the criminals are that loyal."

"You fool," Maul coughed, falling on his knees. "I know the forces stronger than you. My family shall avenge me."

"What do you..."

"Eh, sir?"

Danny looked back and saw that Savage's corpse was decaying maybe too quickly. The previously bulky and muscular Zabrak became as thin as a straw. Green smoke came from his body. The effects were similar to...

"Nightsisters," Phantom growled, before looking down at Maul. He might have another use of the Sith. "Do you surrender, Maul?"

"I am already dead," The Zabrak coughed. "What's the use?"

"I have antidote," Danny said calmly, showing a vial with spiky cap he had taken. "I made it just in case like this. Stand still."

Before Maul could react, he received a very painful injection and screamed. It was stopped when Phantom knocked him out with a powerful hit. He got up, before seeing the same redheaded woman approach him. She smirked.

"Good riddance," she said, before bowing slightly. "The Death Watch is under your command..."

"My name is of no importance. You will know me by the name of Mandalore the Immortal. Announce it to the people."

"Yes, Mandalore."

"What's your name?" Phantom crossed his hands.

"Bo-Katan Kryze, sir."

Danny raised his eyebrow. "Are you by any chance related to..."

"The Duchess. Yes. She is my sister. I actually wanted to ask..."

"What to do with her and her knight in shining armor? Is there anything between them?"

"Satine said she loved him," Bo-Katan huffed. "She thought it was her last phrase," the latter phrase was said without enthusiasm. It seemed that despite everything, she didn't want her death.

Phantom also thought about something else. Obi-Wan was his friend. And no way in hell he was going to kill someone who he loved and who loved him. He wasn't going to allow it to happen, Ben wasn't going to go through what he had.

"Let them go," Danny said to the surprise of anybody.

"Sir...she still has some support. Are sure it is wise to just let her go?"

"I thought you were siblings. The amount of people supporting her is lower than it used to be."

Besides, he wasn't going to remain Mandalore forever. It was in his interest to return Satine on her place when the time came. She was a good ruler. The war ruined everything on its path.

"But make sure she doesn't leave the planet. The Jedi may leave. It is time we got to the real job, send someone to clean this mess. Also, arm yourself, time for a little trip to these criminal gangs."

Bo-Katan smirked. They might just get along.


	59. Chapter LIX: The Bombing

"I understand your concern, colleagues, but I assure you, you have nothing to worry about."

The Council of Neutral Systems was summoned quickly after the coming of the new Mandalore. They were concerned about the upcoming changes. Some planets left, fearing the obvious warmongering of the new leader. That's why Phantom called the meeting. This fact alone put hopes in the rulers' of generally peaceful folk. Their position had some benefits, after all, just like negative sides.

They were sitting in the throne room of the Keldabe Palace. It was the former capital of Mandalore, and the government moved there. Along the well lit hall stood several long tables and chairs. The floor was black, white columns held the tall ceiling. Danny was surprised at how well it suited his tastes. Some planets' representatives were in holographic form. Phantom himself was sitting on the throne, guarded by Bo-Katan, who was wearing her helmet.

Phantom sensed their confusion and rose from his seat of power, the crimson cape of his armor flowing behind.

"I seek to establish the rule of might on this planet. But these changes do not and are not supposed to affect you. I am not a fool. I take Mandalore as a weakling, a whelp which needs to be fed to become as strong as it used to be. Going against superpowers will be a suicide. Republic makes us die from starvation. The Confederacy looks for casus belli to come here. We are surrounded by those who seek to ruin our neutrality."

"You contradict your own ideas," someone said.

"Do I? In the end only one side shall win. The one which is more untouched. We shall emerge more powerful than they are. I'm not going to entangle you in this if you do not want. Further economic cooperation is what I seek at this meeting. War is war, but money always come first, we all know that. And with both sides abandoning us, we have little other option."

"And the Banking Clan?"

"They are too busy with leadership changes. Turns out all this time, all three standard years of war, they had no aurodium to back all the credits they were giving. They are pieces of plastic, nothing more."

Danny couldn't believe how lucky he was with that ordeal. He himself couldn't think up anything better. Another point to the superiority of the Empire. He had done the same thing during the first days, they needed money, and it had some nasty implications. But now the situation was better and the Imperial economy was growing. Banking Clan's eagerness to support the Civil War now had an explanation.

"I heard that Baron Clovis is a talented man," the auburn bearded representative said. "He may just fix things."

"By raising interest for the Republic," Phantom snorted under his helmet. "Here goes their 'neutrality'. I'll get the information. For now on, let's talk about less interesting things. I could care less about economy, but Mandalore is starving, and deny its importance would be stupid."

The meeting went smoothly. The representatives understood that they had nothing to fear from the new ruler of the planet. Danny could be charming, even if it wasn't his kind of charm. He usually tried to be seen kind, generous and welcoming. Mandalore was seen as the strong, yet temperate man who didn't rush things. After all, he already demonstrated his might, not only during the fight with Maul.

The criminal gangs didn't expect the betrayal from the Death Watch. Danny was swift, attacking them before they learned about the Sith's defeat. People were shocked at the sight of the Mandalore's return. The mask gave just the effect Phantom seeked. The shock was evident, and during the short greeting speech Phantom could sense everything. Almost no one questioned his legitimacy. Maybe because they feared the person who radiated power. In the fight he went wielding the black lightsaber. What a unique thing.

As Danny was leaving the room, Bo-Katan caught up with him in the corridor.

"So, do you have a plan of action?" She asked, taking off the helmet. The woman learned that she could openly discuss everything with her commander.

"Yes, I do. I planned to negotiate about assistance from someone else."

"With whom?" Bo-Katan raised her eyebrow as they entered the working room.

"Hello there."

The woman spun around and took out the blaster, seeing the famed general of the Confederacy. Phantom was sitting on a chair cross legged, smirking.

Mandalore gestured for his companion to lower her weapon. Kryze looked at her leader in surprise. Danny grinned. Having negotiations with himself was something new indeed. But no one would suspect anything.

"I thought you don't like the Confederacy," she noted.

"I am not the Confederacy," Phantom got up. "I am myself. And the Protectorate is its part only on papers. I pursue the interests of my own."

"And our interests meet," Mandalore finished.

They took seats at the table. Danny mentally cursed at how the armor was bothering him.

"What could you possibly need?" Bo-Katan asked.

"First you should have asked what I can give," Phantom smirked. "An army, weapons...food. The Protectorate is the only state, or semi-state willing to trade with neutral systems."

"Why?"

"This is how I became the richest man in the Galaxy. I gain money when I see the possibility. But don't worry, the prices won't be bigger than average, despite my obvious monopoly."

Mandalore put a hand on his chin. Danny was unsure about how to act at such...peculiar situation, as it was one of a kind. Bo-Katan needed to be there to keep the Mandalorians unaware about the scheme. He could do everything and without the show.

"You could get more money."

"Yes," Phantom drummed on the hand of his chair. "But I care about the people."

"Then give them for free," Bo-Katan shrugged.

"Calm down, please," Mandalore told her, firmly and yet gently.

"I care, but free food is only for war-torn worlds. They cannot pay, unlike you. Also...I could use a military ally. Not in usual terms, but your Death Watch seems to be a force to be reckoned with."

After a minute of theatrical contemplation, they came to 'agreement'.

Danny also agreed with himself to get a custody over Maul. Asking for Satine would have been suspicious. And that's what brought them there, on Mygeeto. As usual, HK was in charge of getting information out of the Sith. The Zabrak was quiet, if you don't count the screams of agonizing pain. Phantom kept away from the dungeon, although his hearing caught it nevertheless. His consciousness was torturing him in turn, but it didn't make the things any less important.

Maul knew something. That Sith was the key for uncovering the secret of who the main Sith Lord was. It seemed that Maul was quiet not because of big love, but because he didn't want to show any weakness. Danny was surprised at seeing HK so angry. Even he couldn't break that nut. Phantom was sitting at his table, when the droid barged in.

"Exclamation: I want to kill him!" He said loudly.

Danny put down the datapad and looked at him. "Still no success, I take it?"

"Sarcasm: Isn't that obvious?" HK grabbed a glass of wine and poured it at his mouth, before remembering that he didn't have one. He screamed in anger and went out. Danny blinked.

"I need to get him a psychiatrist," he mumbled. "Tucker, make a note."

"Done, sir," a voice in his datapad said, before communicator beeped.

Phantom sighed and pressed the button. If it was another report, he would jump into black hole.

"Hey, Dad," Ahsoka's image appeared. Danny smiled and leaned back in his chair.

"Hello, kiddo. How is it going?"

"I wouldn't say perfect, but with ME everything is alright. Thought you might be interested."

Phantom's look softened. "You know you can call whenever you want, dear. What is it?"

"Don't you know already, then?"

Phantom made a deadpan expression and a stack of papers landed before him.

"As you can see I have been occupied. So, go on."

"The Jedi Temple. There has been an explosion."

Danny's expression showed that his attention was fully on her. Ahsoka noticed this and took it as an urge to continue.

"The Coruscant Police is doing everything it can, but so far no success."

"I see...your thoughts?"

"I...I don't know. The rumors say that the Jedi is envolved, but...It's hard to believe."

"Ahsoka," Danny sighed. "You shouldn't disperse this theory just because it sounds unbelievable. If the proofs show it, take them seriously."

"I know, I know. Master Skywalker said the same."

"He is a smart man," Danny shrugged. "Is there anything you need?"

"No, I think I can manage on my own. I've got to ask the witnesses, though, not the first time."

"You were on Cato Neimoidia mere days ago."

"I've been recalled," Ahsoka shrugged. "The Council thinks me and Anakin are out of suspicion, because we have been there when everything happened. We just happened to be the closest."

Danny nodded. "The question is, why someone would do that. It was a single bombing, I take it?"

"Yes. In the supplemental hanger."

"Ridiculous," Phantom shook his head. "Here goes the suspicion about the Jedi being involved in this. At least the bomb itself was not sneaked in by him or her."

"What makes you think so?"

"Because if it was a Jedi, the bomb would have been sneaked much further, to the more useful place. Non-Jedi are not allowed into the inner sanctum, you know. Just killing the Jedi was not the purpose."

"I never thought about it this way," Ahsoka rubbed her chin. "I'll tell Master Skywalker about this. He is supposed to be speaking with the crowd of angry people now. Maybe it would convince them."

Phantom sighed again. "The Jedi still may be involved. Just the execution was done by someone else. But that's a start, work with it, I believe in your skills."

"Thanks, Dad...Someone is coming, bye!"

Ahsoka turned off the communicator and got up. Soon the door opened and Anakin walked in.

"Hey, Snips, I thought you were in the medical bay," the young Jedi Knight said, crossing his hands.

"Yeah, I just...needed to change my clothes. They stunk."

"You wear the same ones."

Ahsoka gave a deadpan expression. "I have some more," she swiped her hand and the wardrobe opened, showing another similar set of clothes. "See?"

"Okay, okay," Auburn haired man raised his hands. "Just hurry. Let's go."

The Padawan nodded, inwardly sighing in relief. They went through the massive halls of the Jedi Temple. She wasn't surprised that all the conversations were about the explosion. Such a wide amount of theories: the Separatists, the Sith, and of course some theorized that that was a rogue Jedi who turned to the Dark Side. Ahsoka was wondering about the motivation, however. Her thoughtfulness was noticed by her Master.

"Hey, don't worry, Snips. We'll find the bastard."

"That's not what I'm thinking about, Master," Ahsoka looked at him. "Why the hanger?"

"I don't know," Anakin shook his head. "To inspire fear, maybe. The deaths were primarily that of the civilians."

Ahsoka hummed. Yes, it could be the reason, and the commoners' deaths played into Jedi haters' hands. "And if the bomb exploded within the temple itself it wouldn't have caused such an uproar," she guessed.

"You are right. Be it only the Jedi, the people wouldn't have protested," Skywalker said with a sad note. "But with the deaths of the clones as well...the Senate tends to take notice of this."

"They constantly try to interfere," Ahsoka mumbled.

"At least the Chancellor sympathizes us," Anakin responded. "He let us investigate this, after all. Can't imagine what would be once the war ends and Palpatine will be relieved of his duties."

"You're supporting him, huh?"

"I thought that was obvious. Chancellor is a great man, hence why he has been elected several times."

Their conversation ended soon, when they had to part ways. Ahsoka went to the infirmary, where the injured were tended.

"Ah, Padawan Tano, glad you made it."

She looked down and saw a small droid half her size. Russo-ISC droid had a lump body, thin hands and small head with two big eyes. In his hands he held a datapad. The droid had been assigned to assist with the investigation.

"Any luck, Russo?" Ahsoka asked.

"I'm not very good at questioning," the droid responded. "My protocols contain only a certain amount of questions."

"I see. Well, let's not waste any time."

Meanwhile Phantom got curious as well. The bombing in the Jedi Temple was something unique. It had been sacked by the old Empire, bombarded from the ships, and yet such occasion was unique. The Intelligence dug into the issue just when Ahsoka did. It was complicated, because of lack of access into the Temple. The teenage girl was the only source there.

Surprisingly, Ahsoka found something, and Danny was proud of it. She found a clue and the first suspect. The Intelligence worked in parallel. And they found his wife, still alive. It wasn't hard to go through the archives of Coruscant denizens. Even a planet sized city kept track of all people and their social status. They worked in synch with the Jedi, unknowingly even to Ahsoka.

Danny had an interest of his own. Someone who was ready to go to such extent in his or her hatred could prove to be a valuable agent. Well, actually a pawn, Phantom never cared for such kind of people, for the rare exceptions. Those were fanatics without moral, could at least be useful for the time being, before they became dangerous to the others. Pragmatic, but so was the Emperor's view on the world.

Ahsoka and Anakin had been going through the corridor again, following the call made by Russo. They had previously discovered the cause of the explosion - Nano-droids, highly volatile. Jackar Bowmani had supposedly sneaked them inside, the droids' remnants were lying around the place of crime, no one just noticed them. And Russo informed the two that he had found Jackar. As they entered the room, Anakin looked around.

"Where is Jackar?!" He asked, panicking slightly. He had ordered to detain him.

"Don't worry, Master Skywalker. He's not running anywhere," the droid reported.

"Where is he?"

Russo pointed at the sewered hand lying on the table. "I'm afraid he is not running anywhere."

"Is this some kind of joke?"

"No, I assure you it is not. This is Jackar. Or at least what remained of him."

"Was he near the bomb when it happened?" Ahsoka asked.

"No, he WAS the bomb. We have analyzed the bloodstream of his. Nano-droids were found there."

"In his blood? How did they get there?"

"We will probably find the answers at his home," Ahsoka offered, receiving a nod of agreement from her Master.

Russo had found the home already. A trip to the dark Coruscant Underworld was in order. Ahsoka hated being there. If the surface was one huge megapolis, the biggest slums of the Galaxy were beneath. Constant reeking, filth and shady people, one of whom had stolen her lightsaber and she had to retrieve it. The teen hoped that with coming of the Emperor it was going to change, although she didn't know how he would do that.

They found the apartments in one of the tall blocks. As the Jedi they easily accessed the room after receiving no response from the other side. They started searching, rummaging through the rooms of actually nice enough place. Working at the Jedi Temple had own advantages. Not enough money to live on the surface, but it was still quite livable. Ahsoka scanned the surroundings with a special device.

Outside of the building there were two men dressed in black cloaks. Their faces were hidden beneath.

"Have I mentioned how I hate this junkyard?" One of them asked.

"For twenty first time, for this month, Nine," the other rolled his eyes.

"I didn't surrender my apartments on Babylon for this."

"And this you said twenty times. Complain to Watcher Two, not me."

"She gave this mission to us, because..."

"Because so was Keeper's task. And you know perfectly well to whom he responds."

The other man raised his hands. "Fine, fine. I just want to get out of here soon, Six. Still, being a Cipher has own advantages."

"Shh. See that?" Six asked, pointing slightly at the entrance of the apartment and taking a datapad.

The image of the woman was a perfect match.

"Our client," Nine said sarcastically. "Let's get her."

They went forward, while the woman was busy with the lock. She wore a purple sleeveless jacket and a cap, had fair skin, brown eyes and short raven hair. She heard a cough behind, spinning around and seeing the two.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Ma'am, we need you to come with us," Six said politely.

"I've already told the Jedi everything I knew."

"Yes, but there are some more issues which have come to our attention recently, so we need further clarification."

"I don't want to go."

"Funny. You don't want to find the one who attacked husband?" Nine asked, raising his brow.

That did the magic. Her look instantly changed.

"I...well, what is that you need?"

"Simple, care to follow us to the safer place?"

"I was about to go home, anyway."

Two men looked at each other and nodded. "We don't see any problem."

They were about to follow inside the building, the door slid open, but something unexpected happened. The woman suddenly pushed the passerby into the two, before hurling away quickly. The agents quickly recovered and ran after her. Meanwhile the Jedi finished the scan. They found the similar nano-droids. In the food. It explained how they got into the exploded man's bloodstream. They were about to leave, when they heard screams outside. The Jedi peaked outside and saw Jackar's wife running away from two figures.

Needless to say that the meaning was misunderstood.

The agents kept running after the woman, and damn, was she quick. She kept jumping between the transports and people, but her pursuers weren't that far behind. Through the dark crowded pedestrian paths, pushing everyone around, they ran.

"Damn it, we've called enough attention as it is," Nine cursed.

Although he guessed it was nothing out of ordinary. People thought that it was a simple thief chaise.

"Go from another side, you know the shortcut!" Six called.

His companion understood what he meant and nodded, before running into the nearest, very slim alley. They hadn't spend time for nothing. There always should have been a path for retreat, they simply remembered it. Finally, Nine turned abruptly and appeared before the woman, pinning her to the ground, his trainings in the Intelligence coming into play, and earned a light scream of shock. Six approached them.

"Release me! Help!" She shouted, but no one was there, as the alley was empty. Besides, people around learned to be mostly apathetic.

"Relax, we need to ask some questions. Then you will go."

"I know nothing of Jackar's death!"

"We never said he was dead. As far as we know," Six took out a datapad and approached her. "You haven't been alarmed about this. No calls have been made, neither were special announcements on holonet."

"Stop right there!"

They looked to the side and saw Anakin brandishing his blue lightsaber at them. Six remained calm.

"Ah, a Jedi, wonderful. We have just seized the suspect."

Both Skywalker and Ahsoka were confused. Then Six took out a badge. A faked badge of Coruscant Underworld police.

"We were about to ask Mrs. Bowmani some questions, but then she ran off. Now she has admitted that she knows about her husband's departure to the better world, you may say. Have you told her?"

"Eh...no..." Anakin said slowly, putting away his weapon. "And it is...curious."

"Well, I think our job here is done. We shall depart now."

Both Jedi were confused at this. They didn't do anything when two so-called policemen departed. Once they were on a safe distance, Nine stopped his sidekick.

"What the hell was that?! Our order was to detain her!"

"Have you actually read it? Detain her OR pass her to the Jedi, it said."

Anakin met the expectations, both the agents', and the Emperor himself.

"So, she is imprisoned?" Danny asked his daughter's hologram.

"Yes, Dad. She admitted everything, surprisingly. I can't believe it," the teen muttered. "She killed her own husband. She fed him the food and sentenced him to death just to frame us."

"And this, my girl, only proves my words. People hate this Order. The time of them being adored peacekeepers is long gone."

"I actually wondered...Dad, what are you going to do with them?"

"That's...complicated. Why do you ask?"

"I just got several friends here, and if you planned to..."

"Purge them? If you are friends, then I will simply offer them to become the Paladins. Just like many others. As for the rest, I'll just banish them away from any politics. Ossus is fitting, although we will have to terraform it."

Ahsoka nodded. The decision seemed like a comfortable compromise. She just hoped nothing would happen.

A.N. I didn't realize how boring it would be to write this ark. It was so interesting to watch. Sorry if it was a bit rushed. I want to get to Revenge of the Sith sooner.


	60. Chapter LX: The wrong Jedi

**A.N. I've received a lot of questions on the same topic. I thought I answered it, oh, well. Yes, there will be a sequel, based on the 'Rebels' I think. Although I think it will be more Dani - centric. By that time she will be an adult, I think it's going to be interesting.**

The Separatist Council was more quiet in its former days. There were many reasons to why it was so loud at the moment: shock, excitement, concern and fear at what was to come. Which emotion was shown on Phantom's face? None. He remained calm despite the predicament they were all in, he simply listened to what Count Dooku had to say.

"It is a madness!" Nute Gunray exclaimed with his familiar jew-like accent. "We cannot agree on such foolish endeavor!"

"I assure you, friends. We are not risking here, as long as we do everything according to plan," Dooku calmed the Neimoidian and some others down.

"Count," the Muun put in. After San Hill's schemes being uncovered and Rush Clovis' death at the hands of surprisingly convenient attack, the Banking Clan was no longer present, as the Chancellor nationalized them. Yet, some members were still loyal to the Confederacy, or at least their own petty needs.

"We would like to know what do we gain from capturing Coruscant? Do you really think that the Republic is going to just surrender once we take the capital?"

"It happened once," Phantom stated. "Vitiate sacked the planet, captured the senators and the Chancellor himself, and they had no other option. What I am interested in is how the Count offers to get there through all Republican outposts."

"For that I have a suggestion," the old man smiled. "General, would you kindly?"

The circular room of Dooku's palace filled with metallic clanging. Danny knew perfectly well to whom they belonged. General Grievous walked into the room, the entirety of his torso, legs and hands covered by black cloak with red outlines. His reptilian yellow eyes glanced at everyone around, including the ghost, as he went at the center of the room and bowed to Dooku. Then he stood straight.

"We have received an information," Grievous's speech was interrupted by a fit of coughing. "That there is one more galactic route."

A holographic map of the Galaxy appeared.

"No one yet noticed it, however it can be vital. The pass is big enough for the entire fleet we possess. It goes through several scarcely colonized worlds deep within the Core."

"There are thousands of black holes."

"Yet they do not affect this path. It goes right around the Galactic center, close, yet not enough," the line followed the gesture of his clawed fingers. "Planets Bentaal and Botor are currently in possession of the Protectorate. They may be the most suitable places to unite our forces."

As two dots to the south from the sphere symbolizing the Deep Core glowed red, all eyes turned to Phantom. The stark haired man leaned back in his seat.

"You have no need to ask for my permission. You may go in and out as long as you wish. What I am not eager about is that in case of issuing a retreat...you will lead the Republic down this route as well. I'm not willing to get another frontline. They will want to secure their capital and won't tolerate me at their doorstep."

'Although I already am,' he added mentally.

The Count's plan was perfect for his own. However Phantom had no intention of winning that fight. No, it would weaken the garrison and the defensive fleet of Coruscant, making the planet more vulnerable to the Imperial assault. Honestly, they were giving him a set of trump cards, it would be foolish not to use them. Yet the plan was too daring. The Council gambled everything on it. Only minor garrisons were left, seeing as the Senate elections were approaching. The Republic didn't want to press any further at the moment.

But the majority of the Separatists' Armada was going south. Hundreds of ships, thousands of droids were moving there. Phantom was requested to join the attack. The word 'requested' implied that it was an order. And despite the autonomy, the call to arms was something he could not deny. He called an urgent meeting with his commanding staff aboard his dreadnought above Zakuul. It was a circular room, with seats for all members of War Council. But since it was not the war of the Empire, only two seats were occupied.

"We shouldn't intervene," Thrawn crossed his hands. "We will simply lose our forces in vain. We need all our fleets intact for the operation."

"On the other hand," Haseas's hologram put in. "It could be of use. Your Majesty will be known as the hero, 'The conqueror of Coruscant.' Not many have ever earned such name."

"I will be known as 'Butcher of Coruscant' if we lose," Noted Phantom. "Me and Keeper...we have decided to look into the situation around Coruscant. We can't go in blindly. The defense fleet of the planet is formidable, but it is more than manageable if we strike all at once. However no one even bothered to look at the neighboring ones. There is a lot. Too many ships I would say."

An image with the statistics appeared and the ensign officer stepped forward, holding a Datapad.

"By the information of the Intelligence, there are seventy ships in Alderaan System. One hundred sixty six ships in Corellian system..."

There was a long list, mentioning all fleets, although not as massive as the previous ones. The report included their types, and the fleets even consisted the brand secret ships - Star Destroyers of Victory class. Their abilities were concerning. Those massive powerhouses wielded more power than even Imperial cruisers of the same size. It was strange, with all Republican pacifism, at least nominal, to make such destructive weapon.

"This is...concerning," Haseas commented.

"I'm more interested in what they are doing there," Thrawn put a hand on his chin. "It is as if they know about our attack."

"Probably they are," Lord General responded.

"It means only one thing," Phantom finished. "There is a spy in the Council. All ships sent there are piloted by droids only, no one knows about our movements, even the Separatist Senate. It can lead to only one assumption. Ensign, go over the list of all members."

The image from the datapad was transported to the bigger image.

"Nute Gunray...certainly not, the Republic wants him dead. On the other hand...the loss will prolong the war and increase the profit. But he is not a fool. The loss will end the war just as well, but with less pleasant consequences for him. Next."

The list kept going over the other members of the Council. It was all the same, the same desires, the same motives. From the logical point of view, none of the leaders could be motivated. There was only the leader of the CIS, whose motives were unclear. Haseas stated his suspicion.

"Ensign, leave us," Phantom waved his white gloved hand. The officer hit his chest with a fist, bowed and left.

Once the doors slid back, Danny sighed.

"I share your suspicions, my friend," he looked at Haseas. "He is a Sith. His interests are only his and his alone."

"Do you have any plan or..." Thrawn started.

"I'll kill him." Phantom said calmly, before his eyes widened. "Yes. I'll murder him and put the blame on the Jedi! It's perfect."

"Eh...sir...you are sounding strange."

Danny's head snapped in Haseas's direction. "That bastard helped to kill the woman I loved. He will meet the same fate as the one who executed that plan."

"Your Majesty," Thrawn added calmly. "Don't let your emotions come into play. Although I admit...disposing of the Count would free the position of the CIS head."

"I had this in mind," Phantom returned to his normal and tempered self after taking a sigh. It was a rare occasion when they saw the Emperor being something but cheerful and cocky or serious. "Any ideas, gentlemen?"

"We can provoke the Republican fleets based on our borders to attack," Thrawn immediately came up with a plan. "This way we will be able to keep our forces away from their trap. Legally, I mean."

"Nice one," Haseas snorted, before looking at his monarch. "If you want to dispose of that old man, you should come alone."

"I have nothing against it," Danny said firmly. "I'll take some other ship, though. I want to keep Hyperion for the larger surprise."

The following days were that of deep anxiousness. Phantom made a call to Coruscant, to his daughter. And although he interrupted her plans of sudden interrogation of the familiar bomber, on the latter's request, Danny deemed it to be more important. He told her about the attack, and she was shocked. The Emperor ordered her to pack her things, as he was going to pick the teen and get her out.

Ahsoka resisted, telling that she couldn't just leave, for the other Jedi would notice her absence. Besides, it would be a treachery.

"Ahsoka," Phantom sighed through the hologram. "You have been sent there with this very purpose. At least...just lay low."

"Alright, Dad. I'll be careful."

"That other job can wait. I have a task for you. I need you to take some important things from the archive."

"I don't know. Mrs.Bowmani sounded urgent. She said she would speak to me only."

"It sounds like a trap," Danny said calmly.

"Dad, she is in the cell guarded by clones."

"Hm...on the other hand...she may not have worked alone," Said Phantom thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. "And if so, the others may try to kill her, so she wouldn't spill the beans...fine, go, but be careful."

Ahsoka nodded and went out of her room. The atmosphere in the Temple changed from being that of fear and wonder and was replaced by sorrow. Because with the criminal being caught, now they could bury the dead, cremation in other words. The ceremony had passed, and now the people were grieving. Ahsoka became resentful to the criminal. To kill the innocents so violently...it made her angry. As she had learned from her foster father, it was useful, to the certain degree until it made her take drastic decisions. She also pitied her friend - Bariss Ofee, she had lost someone important to her in that bombing.

The teen then noticed her Master, walking alongside the Republican officer. The officer familiar to her.

"Ah, Ahsoka," Anakin noticed her presence. "Where are you going?"

"Bowmani wanted to talk to me only. I don't know why but it may be useful."

"I don't think that would be necessary," the officer said. "The Senate has decided to take this case under its control. I was appointed to oversee the process, just like all further actions made by the Jedi Order."

"What? Why?"

"Ahsoka, Moff Tarkin is one of the less stern candidates," Anakin told her.

"Moff?" The girl asked in surprise. There were no Moffs in the Republican hierarchy, only in the Imperial one.

The name did originate from the Republic. It was being given to the warlords who had joined the Republic on their own volition. It was during the Second Sith Empire when it was transformed in the official governmental rank.

"The Chancellor has just established this system," Tarkin explained, fixing the auburn hair. "At the time of war he, as the Supreme Commander, needs a full grasp on the sectors. Also, it is a widely discussed matter that the Republican military should do without the Jedi's command."

"How? We have been fighting just fine for this three years."

"And so far not a single more or less decisive outcome. I believe I've said enough. If you excuse me."

Tarkin nodded and went to the elevator. Once the doors closed, the Moff made a sigh.

"I don't get why His Majesty bothers with her," he mumbled.

Meanwhile Ahsoka was on her way to the prison. Once she was inside, the girl went through the corridors. The place was made from dark metal, lit by thin white lights going through it. Ahsoka stopped near the required cell. The clones dressed in white and red armor nodded and let her in after her request. Bowmani jumped in her seat once the teen entered the room. She was dressed in the same clothes which were on her during the capture and taking into custody - pink jacket and a cap.

"You wanted to talk to me?" Ahsoka asked.

"Yes. Look, I wasn't working alone," Bowmani said urgently.

"So, I've figured. Well then, spill it, who were you working with?"

"I was given the nano-droids and convinced to do what I did. It was a Jedi, her name was B..."

Suddenly the unexpected happened. She started to get chocked and gasping for air. Ahsoka was stunned and froze for a split second before trying to find a solution. It was the Force choking...Bowmani fell on the floor, still trying to get the tiniest bit of air...Choking needed the executor to have an eye contact, only Phantom so far was able to pull that off without looking...Bowmani's face turned blue...the only way to look into the room was...through the camera! Ahsoka quickly turned on her lightsaber and slashed the device.

The trick worked. The woman panted for breath, and soon got up. Before she could say anything, a bunch of clones went inside the room.

"Miss Tano, you must follow us."

"What for?"

"You are under arrest for an attempt to kill the witness."

"WHAT?! I tried to save her!" Ahsoka exclaimed.

"Uhuh," the commander said sarcastically. "That's why the camera was destroyed, I presume?"

"Letta, tell them," the teen looked at the sitting woman.

"It's her," Bowmani said to the girl's shock and horror.

But Ahsoka wasn't able to do anything now. She was cornered, and she was not going to further her problems by resisting. All she could do was to throw a murderous glare at the woman sitting near her.

Meanwhile on Hyperion Phantom could do nothing but to look at the timer and the Galactic map, with his youngest daughter sitting on a chair, writing her own things. He could also begin writing his speech for the future, because his soldiers would need it. But he was not in the mood at the moment. It required a certain level of inspiration he currently didn't have.

"What are you thinking about, Daddy?" Dani suddenly asked curiously.

Phantom smiled softly and looked at his child, before ruffling her stark locks.

"You see, my girl...nine years ago, I couldn't even imagine that I will be here."

"Of course you couldn't," The girl said in an all-knowing tone. "You cannot see the future."

Danny snorted. "Smartypants. Well, I knew what I wanted eight years ago. And I am about to get it."

"What'd you mean?" Dani tilted her head.

"Look at this map, my dear," Phantom put the girl on his knees. "By the end of this year, all of this shall be ours."

"Really?"

"Yes. THIS is what I wanted. When the entire Galaxy will belong to us, there will be peace. I want peace for everyone. I have a simple feeling of anxiety. I don't know if I can really pull it off."

Danny didn't know why he was telling this to the small girl, but it helped to ease his nerves. Dani meanwhile spun on his knees and two pairs of emerald glowing eyes met.

"Of course you can, Daddy!" She said confidently, hugging him tightly. "You can do everything!"

"Except seeing the future?" Danny smiled in amusement.

"Except this, yeah," the girl responded just as firmly.

Phantom laughed and held the child in his arms. He knew that as long as he had his children, something worthy to make the next day for, he wouldn't go astray from his righteous path. And speaking of, he was yet to receive an answer from the other daughter. And, as if on a snap of the fingers, the communicator rang.

"Yes?"

"Your Majesty," Keeper said. "We have a problem."

"What problem?"

"Miss Tano. She is currently under arrest and about to face the trial."

"What," asked Phantom. Although it didn't sound as such. Dani gasped in horror. "Has she been..."

"No, as far as we are aware, she is accused of bombing in the Jedi Temple. She hasn't been outed yet."

"I knew it was a trap," Danny muttered. "I want to know everything. We shall deal with everything in order."

"We've got to help her!" The nine years old exclaimed.

"We will, kiddo. But I have to discuss some things in private. I'll tell you what we shall do later."

The girl nodded and got off her father's knees, before, although somewhat reluctantly, walking out of the room. Phantom's look instantly changed.

"How did it happen?" He asked calmly.

Keeper had managed to gather the information, and he simply told his Lord about the transpiring events.

"What are your orders, milord?"

"Simple, kill that rat Bowmani before she even leaves her cell," Danny growled. "That is the first step."

"Sir, she is about to play part in the process. The Chancellor himself will be present."

"I know that killing her won't do any good to prove Ahsoka's innocence. But she should pay for everything."

"Sir, I ask you to reconsider this. Bowmani may know who the real bomber is."

"Then beat the information out of her and then do the job. I am not the one who should explain this to you, neither you should ask me these questions."

"I understand, My Lord," Keeper bowed. "Anything else?"

"What about the Jedi Council?"

"They find her guilty."

"After everything she did for them...just as I expected them to behave. It is actually for the better, I think. If Ahsoka had doubts about betraying them, now the illusion of brotherhood has shattered."

"Not everyone on the Council thinks so," Keeper put in. "Master Plo Koon doesn't believe the accusations. Just like Skywalker, but he is not on the Council."

"And Kenobi?"

"Although he seems sympathetic towards the girl, he needs proofs of either her being guilty or not."

"They are still on my good list, then...We should await the decision of the judge. I'll get her out afterwards without any problems. And, one last thing. Make the death memorable."

Keeper bowed again and the transmission ended. Phantom sighed and leaned back in his leather chair. Somehow it was his fault, he thought. After all, Danny could stop her from waltzing into the trap. It was useful, but immoral. He couldn't imagine how it felt to feel betrayed by the people one considered a family. But wait, he could, but it didn't make him feel any better. If anything, it made Danny feel even worse. The consciousness was killing him, puns aside.

The process was hard for Ahsoka. She was still sixteen for goodness sake. It was hard even for adults to go through this. Especially if they were innocent. All that accusing stares turned to her, disappointment for the things she hadn't committed. Not to mention two hearings. It just happened so quick. The first one was within the Jedi Order. She couldn't believe how easily the Council dismissed all her claims. They didn't have any proofs and yet they banished her from the order, thus fully putting her into hands of the Republic. So here she was, standing on the platform, in a huge dark room, with the senior Chancellor, along with the considerable audience looking at her from above.

"Senator Amidala, this is absurd. We all saw the recording," Palpatine responded to the senator's objection.

Ahsoka was thankful that the young Naboo senator was on her side. It seemed that she always agreed with Anakin. He only had to ask, as she was found to be most fit for the task, as she knew Republican laws perfectly.

"What is absurd, Chancellor, are these 'proofs' you are showing us!" The auburn haired woman said, being dressed in the white and tight outfit.

"Well, about this," the aged leader of the Republic said slowly, before looking at Moff Tarkin, who was standing near Ahsoka. The officer, dressed in dark green uniform, stepped forward.

"Actually, Chancellor, I think it is no longer possible," Wilhuff responded. "Letta Bowmani was found dead in her cell."

It caused a loud gasp to erupt. Ahsoka's eyes were ready to jump out of their sockets. Although, deep inside was that feeling of smugness. She got what was coming to her.

"How is that possible?" Palpatine asked, his blue eyes peering at the calm Moff.

"We do not know. But you can see for yourself."

The Chancellor saw the image on the small screen before himself. He flinched. "Oh, dear goodness."

No one else saw what was there. Palpatine quickly turned off the screen.

"Now this is suspicious," his blue skinned advisor said, shifting a long aurodium staff in his hand.

"How exactly?" Ahsoka called, despite the protocol, which made Padme sigh. "Or have I suddenly learned how to kill people on a distance?"

"You being here does not mean the lack of associates," the Chancellor called. "In situations like this, you are offered to tell their names, and your own imprisonment will be shorter."

"How am I supposed to know if I am innocent?"

"As much as I am obliged to be the prosecution side," Tarkin put in. "I must point out that it is not Miss Tano's doing. There is little gain in killing Bowmani, since she was yet to start cooperating with the investigation."

Everyone was stunned at this, especially the one being accused and handcuffed. Was Wilhuff Tarkin, who had a strong anti-Jedi sentiments, actually defending her? Palpatine voiced his confusion, but the Moff's face remained stoic.

"I'm on the side of logic, Chancellor. You don't seem to need my effort in this matter," Tarkin put his hands behind his back.

"Does your logic imply that Bowmani could crack eventually and that was the reason for killing her?"

"I am not a lawyer. It is Senator Amidala's job."

Padme stood straight. "Your Excellency," she looked at Palpatine's wrinkly face. "Has it never occurred to anyone here that for some reason it was Bowmani, who asked for a meeting. Shouldn't she, on the contrary, ask for protection instead of seeking it, knowing that she was likely to get killed?"

More whispers began.

Meanwhile, back in the Underworld, Anakin was going through the dirty streets yet again. He was trying to find the proofs for Ahsoka's innocence, which was hard. He was visiting the places which the girl had passed, hoping to find anything of use. However, as he was passing the corner, the Jedi knight noticed that he was being followed. Before he could do anything, Skywalker heard an oddly familiar voice.

"Hello, Anakin, any news as of late?"

"What. Are you doing here?" Skywalker said slowly, his hand going for the lightsaber.

"Easy there. I'm just going for a walk," Danny smiled beneath the hood. Anakin could make out the glowing green dots.

"In the enemy capital," Anakin whispered harshly.

"Yeah, pretty much. It's not like you can detain me. Actually, I heard about a mishap with your padawan..."

"If it was you who did this, I..."

"Nope. Not me. But I can be of assistance," Phantom smirked. "Mind going for a walk where we can discuss it?"

If there was a chance of helping his close friend, Anakin was going to go for it. They went together, and Skywalker found it really unusual. Phantom, on the other hand, was relaxed as if he was surrounded by an army.

"What do you offer?" Anakin asked impatiently.

"I think it is of no surprise to you that I have spies on this planet."

Skywalker snorted. "Of course you do. And you are not going to tell me their names."

"I can't, because I myself do not know. Anyways, they can check all people involved and find who is guilty."

"How long is it going to take?"

Danny shrugged. "Depends. I can also bail her out in no time if you want."

"No. It will only make everything worse...why are you helping us?"

"Because I find you to be one of my friends. My enemies don't usually live for long if I have no use for their faults."

"Rather weak motive."

"You don't know me, Skywalker. I value friends a lot, especially if they have a tendency to die by my enemies' hands," Danny finished somberly. Anakin involuntarily felt pity for the stark haired man, he was a witness of such loss, at least its outcome.

"Was there someone else?" He asked, he didn't know why.

"My childhood friends were killed by my foster parents. I've seen a lot of good men and women die for our cause. I think that alone is enough."

Anakin stared at him. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I know that this information cannot and won't be used against me. Besides," Danny shrugged. "I have an understanding of people's nature. You have been a slave, right?"

Anakin flinched, before looking away. "I don't want to talk about this."

"Have it your way. Oh, look, here we are."

"It is a dead end."

"Why, you are quite observant, Skywalker," a female voice sounded.

Anakin activated his lightsaber and pointed it towards the shadows.

"Show yourself, Ventress."

The pale skinned woman went to the view. She had grown herself short silvery hair.

"What's the meaning of this."

"Simple," Phantom said in his usual upbeat tone. "She now works on me."

"Until he completes his part of the bargain," Ventress responded in a bored tone, crossing her hands.

"And that would be..."

"Trade secret. It does not concern you, Anakin," Phantom answered. "As far as I know, you have met Ahsoka on her misadventure, yes?"

"Indeed. We've found a storehouse where the nano-droids were kept. Then we separated."

"Why?" Anakin asked suspiciously, with the still activated lightsaber.

"I've done my part. She promised to get me a pardon for what I did, but it seems she has some problems of her own. Then I got knocked out and my lightsabers were stolen."

"Lost your touch?" Anakin asked with a smirk.

"Please," Danny raised his hands. "Let's not kill each other. Anything else, Ventress?"

"Yes...the girl often made calls to the temple, talking with someone named 'Bariss'."

Anakin's eyes widened. Phantom was not really surprised. He knew about his daughter's friend. It was only logical of the girl to call. She couldn't access him for some reason. Either she couldn't memorize the number, or the communication stands didn't have access on the distance Phantom was on.

"I take it you know of her," Ventress looked at the Jedi.

"I do. I think I should get to the Temple."

Phantom nodded, before looking at the woman and tossing her a card.

"Hundred denarii, as promised. Need a ride, Skywalker?"

"I have a transport."

"Not as quick as me."

Danny put a hand on the young man's shoulder, before they vanished in a smoke, reappearing near the Temple, but out of line of sight. Anakin panted for air, as it had been pushed out of his lungs.

"First time?" Phantom smirked, as Skywalker was looking around in wonder. "Before you ask, that's how I move around - teleportation, one of natural powers of mine."

"Wow," Skywalker shook his head. "Thanks, I guess."

"Don't mention it."

"I still don't get why you are fighting for the Confederacy. You'd make a nice Jedi."

Danny chuckled. "I'm afraid I'm too lost in the Dark side for their liking. You will soon learn that I'm fighting for my own interests, which fit with the rest of the Galaxy. Both the Confederacy and the Republic are rotten to their cores. Well, go now. I'm afraid our next meeting will be less welcoming. And please, not a word about this."

Phantom then turned invisible. He couldn't sit and wait, the man took off towards the Supreme Court. The Emperor easily got inside the enormous building, past the guards, numerous Republican banners and coats of arms. The process was still going. Amazing how the bureaucrats could make such groundless hearing so long. Phantom floated near Ahsoka. His heart ached at seeing her like this, and he could sense her whirlwind of emotions.

"Don't worry, kiddo," he whispered.

Ahsoka jumped, thankfully it went unnoticed.

"Dad?" She quietly asked in hope.

"Got that right," Danny smiled, and she felt him tap on her shoulder. "How bad is it?"

"They don't believe me. I tried to stop her from death...and she framed me."

"I know. The rat deserved what came to her," Danny muttered. "Tarkin wasn't so hard, I hope?"

"No, he is actually...softer than I expected."

"I know. I told him to be. If nothing works, I'll get you out."

Ahsoka managed to hide her shock. Her foster father truly was unbelievable. To convince a man like Tarkin to cooperate, especially after being humiliated at the start of the war, it was surprising to say the least. The girl was glad to have a parent such as Danny. He always was there for her, unlike the Council, he didn't even question her innocence. Ahsoka felt safer now, and she was ready to face whatever decision the Chancellor made.

"After careful consideration, the Court has come to decision that Ahsoka Tano is...guil..."

"Wait!"

Anakin's voice resonated across the room. All eyes turned to the entrance. Skywalker was accompanied by several people in white masks and white robes with golden trimmings. The guards of the Jedi escorted another person. Ahsoka could only stare at the scene.

"Master Skywalker, what's the meaning of this?"

The Jedi always found it strange that Palpatine used the wrong title. Anakin had not been granted the rank of Master yet.

"I've brought you the real criminal, Chancellor," Anakin said loudly, before gesturing at the person guarded by the other Jedi. "Bariss Offee."

It was a teen not older than her, of Miralucan race. She was basically a human, but with yellow skin and a multitude of small rectangular tattoos, going under the blue eyes and nose. She was dressed in a tight black robe. Ahsoka gasped. She couldn't believe her eyes.

"She has admitted that she was the one to commit the crime," Skywalker explained. "Tell them!" He exclaimed.

"Bariss..." Ahsoka mouthed. Phantom crossed his hands.

"I did this," Bariss said. "I did this because I've come to realize what many people in the Republic have come to realize! The Jedi are the ones guilty in this war! That we have strained so far from the path that we have become villains in this conflict! That we shall be the ones put on trial! My attack on the Temple was an attack on what the Jedi Order has become! An army fighting for the Dark side! This Republic is failing! It's only a matter of time."

The speech was short, but it created a tension so thick that it could be cut with a knife. The Chancellor ordered to take her away. Phantom put a hand on his chin, just as Tarkin did. They both were thinking of the same thing, although differently. But Danny's attention soon returned to his daughter, who refused to look at anything. They needed a moment alone, but that moment was yet to come. She couldn't leave just yet.

Ahsoka was brought back to the Jedi Council chambers. For that moment that sandy group actually got up from their seat, Phantom noted, quoting his thoughts.

"Ahsoka, I...I'm sorry," Anakin said.

"For what?" The girl smiled weakly. "You've saved me, Anakin."

"You've handled yourself greatly, young Padawan," Plo-Koon nodded his thick leathery head.

"You've shown the resilience worthy of the Jedi," Obi-Wan said with a smile.

"And it was enough for the final Padawan test. The ways of the Force are unpredictable. We will be glad to welcome you. As a Jedi Knight," Master Windu added.

However, Ahsoka was too fed up with this.

"And then what?" She asked. "Blamed again to become Master?"

It was the last thing the Council expected. Phantom raised his eyebrow. Where did she learn to talk back like...oh, yes, from him.

"Ahsoka..."

"No. I..." Ahsoka looked at her Master sadly. "I can't return. Not when I know what the Council really is. The ones who are ready to turn back on everyone."

She turned around. Walked off, leaving the stunned Council alone in the room. Phantom followed the gesture, but not before Anakin, who hurried after her. Danny took a second to look over the bunch of Jedi. They seemed saddened by her words, but Phantom would have cared if they weren't the one sentencing his child to life-long imprisonment. He felt pity for Obi-Wan, who never spoke in favor of that decision. Neither that Plo Koon guy. Then, remembering that he needed to hurry outside, Phantom hurried out of the room as well.

He found his daughter conversing with Skywalker outside, right near the huge stairs leading down. Still invisible, Phantom approached them.

"How am I supposed to stay there, Anakin?" Ahsoka asked loudly. "Each time I look at them I would only see the ones who did this to me. I can't trust them again."

"You can trust me," Skywalker reasoned. "The Order is your life, Ahsoka! You can't just leave it!"

"I do trust you, but it is better if I go," Ahsoka said slowly. "I have my own path to walk. But I won't forget everything you did for me."

The girl smiled slightly, and even if her eyes got watery, she turned around and held everything back. Anakin looked at her back, before sighing and walking off. Ahsoka went down the long stairs, Coruscant lights were shining around, the ecumenopolis was living its life, and she was nothing but a grain of sand in this huge city.

"I know the feeling," Ahsoka looked to the side and saw her father standing near her. Phantom gave a soft smile. "Not every person is what it seems to be."

"I just don't understand, Dad. I thought they were my friends, Bariss was like a second sister to me."

Danny hugged her with one hand. "You still have your true one. Dani is missing you, you know?"

"Yes, I thought so," Ahsoka made a sad chuckle. "I'd like to go."

"You know, I think that's for the better, kiddo."

"Why?"

"Because Coruscant in the following weeks is going to be the last place you want to remain on."


	61. Chapter LXI: The battle of Coruscant

"Never I have pictured myself doing this," Danny said.

"Well, you do know. Do not get sidetracked from our plan, Phantom," Grievous responded.

The wind was blowing Phantom's stark locks and cape at such height. Being half a mile above the ground had implications of its own. Danny could do little but observe the massive battle transpiring in front of him. The rising sun of this part of the planet glistened at the glacial skyscrapers, and the noise was deafening. Star Fighters of both sides were flying on neck breaking speeds in a battle for the sky dominance. On a long distance Phantom could see the real battle, but he needed to be where he was at the moment. Above them were small dots, hundreds of them, but the ghost knew perfectly well what they were.

"The droids are keeping the guards occupied in the lower levels," the cyborg rasped. "The Chancellor's office's window is two stores beneath us."

Yes, the grand plan was about to be put into fruition. The atrocious fight was going everywhere, in space, in the air and on the land. The Confederacy's strike came out as a complete 'surprise'. Phantom never bothered to actually tell his colleagues about the trap which was soon to spring.

Danny also kept wondering about the future events. The attack was going to obliterate third of the fleet of the Confederacy. Which in turn meant that the space belonging to the CIS were going to be attacked and not being able to resist. It in turn meant panic. And that implied that both the Senate and the Council would follow the one who had an army - one particular stark haired undead. At the same second he would have power over the neutral systems, the Empire and the Confederacy, leaving a pathetic chunk of the Republican territories. Just according to plan, he needed to play everything right to avoid extra bloodshed.

An attack on Coruscant of all places? For the people below it was the nightmare they hoped would never happen. They knew that the Republic didn't have many successes, they were being pushed from system after system by the Confederate droids and the Protectorate Legions. Yet, the stab at the very heart of the Republic was a low and hard blow. Effective, though.

"How are you going to..."

Grievous's three-clawed hand pierced the metal cover of the Senate building. Danny could feel a smirk beneath the durasteel mask of his. Phantom calmly stepped over the edge, floating in the air and looking back. He couldn't resist a smirk at the look in the General's eyes. For the Republic the man was nothing but a horrific monster, and many atrocities were on his account. Phantom didn't like to sully himself by going along with the feared general, but the job needed his presence.

Grievous went ahead of the ghost, using his metal legs to go down surprisingly quickly. Phantom followed him, descending lower. Once above the glass, Danny took an invisible peep inside the room, before returning. The Chancellor was guarded by a contingent of the Senate guards, the clones and the Jedi. Phantom told his accomplice as such.

"No matter," Grievous said.

Then he burst inside the room, breaking the glass. Danny rolled his eyes and floated in the room.

"How crude," he commented and stepped on the broken glass. The man ignored the situation in the room.

"Who are you to break in into the Chancellor's office?!" Palpatine exclaimed, pointing an accusatory finger at Grievous.

Phantom had to give it to the old man. He sure was brave. Grievous was about to snatch the Chancellor, but he was pulled backwards, into the Jedi Master's grip. She was of the same race as Ahsoka, with very long headtails.

"Protect the Chancellor!" She exclaimed, as she, some of the clones and her fellow Jedi retreated behind the door.

About twenty armed men were pointing weapons at them.

"I will pursue them," Danny offered, swiftly activating his lightsaber.

"No, I will."

The torrent of blasts was unleashed, and while Phantom calmly deflected all of them on a huge speed, Grievous's agility astonished him. Without even turning on the lightsabers, he jumped and rolled, smashing the clones on his path, literally, the helmets cracked and Danny didn't want to know what happened inside of them. Grievous broke through the doors and Phantom realized he had to give cover.

Danny tossed the lightsaber through the enemy's chest, before swinging his palms, throwing all the remaining soldiers out of the broken window. The lightsaber flew into his hand, right from the soldier who had been sent to the deadly flight. His lips thinned at the sight of the ravaged room, he was about to pursue the general, when something glistened and caught his eye. Curiosity won, and he approached the tall aurodium vase, which had been knocked over. Danny kneeled and, once he saw what the object was, his eyes were ready to jump out of their sockets.

There was...a lightsaber. Neatly made, with clean aurodium parts and smooth edges. Phantom activated it. A crimson blade came out from the hilt. Danny stood frozen, his mind trying to comprehend what he had just witnessed. What could a Sith lightsaber do in the Chancellor's office? Unless...

The explosion down on the ground snapped Danny out of his observations. Putting the lightsaber on his belt, Phantom ran and jumped out of the window. The flight down was long, and for someone who could fly it surely was exciting. He landed on the ground, and suddenly found himself near the Super battle droids. They didn't attack him for obvious reasons, they were looking towards the elevator exit. Phantom turned there as well. The Jedi ran out of it, Chancellor at hands. Danny grinned.

"Hello there!"

Grievous landed near him, leaving dents on the metal surface. One of the Jedi went forward, and since he was an Ithorian, with two throats going along the long neck, Phantom knew exactly what would happen. He summoned a shield as the deafening noise, akin to the ghost wail, although less powerful, started obliterating everything on its way. Phantom's ears were aching from the sound, he was sensitive to such things when they weren't caused by him. The push was blocked by the shield, the droids were sent backwards. Grievous pinned his legs to the ground, furthermore, he went in the opposite direction.

Once the Ithorian was out of breath, Phantom dispersed the shield. He lunged forward, and it started a long chase after the group. Danny jumped in the air, as he was quicker there, while Grievous kept chasing the Jedi on the ground. They were damn quick, although the ghost had a small laugh once he saw Palpatine being carried bridal style. The chase got them to the railway station, which was void of life, despite the high speed trains going back and forward. Danny put a hand on his ear.

"Phantom, you shall be assisted by my guards, and remember, we need Palpatine alive," Grievous said.

"Got it."

Phantom saw that the trains separated the Jedi in two groups. He landed behind one of them - the Togruta Jedi Master. She immediately spun around and their lightsabers clashed in a fierce battle. Danny was calm, although he knew he had to hurry. He purposely retreated back, right on the railroad.

"That's all you can?" She exclaimed, jumping over him and attacking from behind. "Working for Grievous now?"

Danny blocked the strike. "I am a mere ally, I am afraid. But it's your stop, I think."

The Jedi heard the train and saw Phantom's grin. She leaped out from the road, while Danny simply became intangible, as the train went through him. In a split second he saw all its insides, before jumping after the Jedi, turning invisible. He struck at her again, but the Force was not working only on the ghost. The Jedi defended herself again.

"A man like you can do more than be a pawn in Dooku's plan," she said.

"Lady, I am far from being a puppet," Phantom made a swing and gave a mysterious smile.

The trains finally allowed to get a view of the opposite side of the station. Shaak Ti, and that was her name, saw that Grievous wasn't sitting back idly. He was about to get the Chancellor. She jumped over the next train, and Danny followed the gesture. Then again. But Phantom decided to cut off the only possible retreat - the entrance to the personal subway transportation. If they got there, it would basically mean that they could be everywhere on the planet. Grievous was pushing the Jedi right to it, and Phantom set the special transport's random destination. It rode away, and Danny knew there will be no other for a long period of time. He then turned around, and the Jedi noticed his presence.

"Enough of that," Phantom pointed his transparent blade at them. "You have no place to run."

"Yes, it was an interesting warm up, but I am afraid your time has come," Grievous rasped, stepping forward.

The Jedi turned on the lightsabers again. Except for the one who was carrying the Chancellor.

"You have no right to threaten me!" Palpatine got off the Jedi's hands. "I am the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic! I am not going to run any longer from some piece of rusty metal!"

Danny whistled. Well, the guy surely was brave...or he knew that nothing was going to come to him. Maybe both, but how could he know that they needed him alive, not kill him to make the Republic fear?

"Brave words, Chancellor..."

Phantom noticed the edge of Grievous's cape. It was slowly tying itself around the handle of...A loud announcement beep signaled the departure of another train, the one to which Grievous was tied to. The feared general was pulled away on a neck breaking speed. Danny looked at his own cape.

"Well, seems that Edna was right all along," he deadpanned, before seeing the weapons pointed at him. "Are you not afraid?"

"Of what?"

"Haven't you realized that that's not a single percent of my power you've witnessed? Be happy that I didn't."

"You are a man of honor, or you claim to be one. Does taking hostages fit such saying?"

"Indeed. I won fair and square. And the fact that I fight as your equal instead of snapping all your bones implies that I am fighting fairly. And the war is going to end. Many lives will be saved by capture of one man."

"Ha! Nonsense!" Palpatine responded. "Dooku will do no good for the Galaxy. The Republic will keep resisting."

"Oh, I don't think so."

He swiped his blade. "Hand him over, and you will be spared. You have my word, and I don't think Grievous will be as generous."

His response was a simultaneous attack. Phantom sighed, deflecting the strikes.

"My consciousness is clear, at least."

Then they were pulled in the air, being choked. Everyone was astonished as he didn't even use his hands.

"I'm done playing," Danny narrowed his eyes and his hands sparked with electricity. "But I am in a good mood, so...good night."

He unleashed lighting and made the Jedi scream in pain, until they were completely knocked out. Phantom fixed the nonexistent tie and approached the Chancellor. He heard metallic noise behind, and saw Grievous returning from the tunnel, without his cape. Danny thought it was an improper moment to joke around.

"Finally," Grievous muttered, before grabbing Palpatine. "We are moving. The shuttle is waiting."

"Yes, Lord Phantom has done all the job for you," The Chancellor responded, before Grievous looked at him closely.

"You are lucky I'm ordered to bring you alive."

They got to the ship with surprisingly no problems. The shuttle was waiting for them, as the battle was booming on a large distance away. They went up the ladder, but then they saw the Republican landing craft flying closer to them. Master Windu jumped out of it. Grievous and Phantom activated their weapons. The dark skinned Jedi clenched his fist and the cyborg's chest was pushed into inside, making Grievous scream.

"Get out of here!" Phantom said, "I'll hold him off."

The General didn't comply, he nodded and went inside, followed by his Magna Guards. Phantom jumped at the Jedi, while the ship started to take off. Windu attempted to get on it, but Phantom pinned him to the ground.

"You ain't going anywhere," Danny commented as the shuttle disappeared in the atmosphere.

"Dedicated to such degree?" Windu asked, activating his purple lightsaber.

"Nah, I'll get out of here. But yes, my plan is going nice so far. So, got anything to say before I toss you out of the window for the pun of it, Master WINDU?"

The Jedi lunged forward with a roar, but he only hit the black smoke.

Meanwhile, Phantom reappeared aboard of the ship Invisible Hand - Grievous's flagship. His appearance came up as a complete surprise, and several droids dropped their blasters. Danny was on the bridge, in center of which was a seat.

"Count," Danny called.

"Ah, Daniel, didn't expect to see you so soon."

Dooku rose from his seat. His silvery hair and short beard were accurately shaved as always. He was wearing a black suit and brown cape. On his belt was a curved lightsaber.

"How did it go?"

The welcomeness of his tone made Danny's ectoplasm boil. How dared that bastard speak to him this way. So calm, he knew perfectly well what he did. Phantom always needed restraint not to kill the old man then and there. Launch him into vacuum. But soon, he was going to get what he wanted.

Phantom shrugged. "There were some complications, but Grievous is on his way here."

"How come you are here so quickly?"

"It is my secret. How is the battle going?"

"We seem to be on a stalemate," Dooku answered, although he didn't like the answer of the young man. "If nothing happens, we have a chance of winning. We'd have more chances if you have sent more ships."

His tone was an accusatory one. Phantom remained calm. "If we lose, at least we will have reserves. There always must be a failsafe plan."

Count wanted to object, but he couldn't find the reasoning which didn't sound like a rash decision of an amateur. Danny meanwhile stepped closer to the window, observing the battle. If the vacuum could let the sounds through, then many would have become deaf. It was the battle bigger than the strike at Babylon during the Imperial civil war. Phantom was overcame by memories of the battle, even if he was not the one to fight above the planet. Thrawn was in his element, so the Emperor let the Grand Admiral do his faithful duty. Speaking of whom, Danny made a call.

With him everything was fine so far, despite the received damage. Possessing six ships of the Protectorate navy, Thrawn made dot strikes, attacking separated ships with all six of his. It was safe, but not that effective, considering the amount of ships opposing them. Meanwhile Dooku received a message from Grievous, he had arrived. The old man didn't invite Phantom to follow, but Danny tagged along, nevertheless. The ghost could sense annoyance.

They got to a large room, which looked like a hall, with one chair in the middle. From another door, a few seconds later Grievous went inside as well. The Chancellor was brought through. Danny noticed several glances directed at him, which made Phantom even more confused.

"Mind leaving us alone for a while, Phantom?" Dooku asked.

"Why?" Danny raised his eyebrow. Then two guards stepped in front of him.

Phantom narrowed his emerald eyes, before snorting and walking out of the room, into the empty corridor. Danny was about to go invisible, when his communicator beeped.

"Yes?" He asked.

"Your Majesty, the trap has sprung," Thrawn reported. "More ships are coming out of hyperspace."

"Leave immediately," Danny commanded. "They have interdictors of their own."

"Will you be alright, sir?"

"Yes, Grand Admiral," Phantom said seriously. "Return to the Imperial space. Be ready. There is only a few days left. There must be no failings."

"As you wish, My Lord. For the Empire."

The transmission ended. Danny rubbed his temples, before glancing outside. Only more explosions could be seen, he could even see the boarding of two seriously damaged ships. Also he could see even more ships coming from the hyperspace. One in particular caught his interest. It looked a lot like Harrower-class, but with one bridge on a tall neck. It completely decimated the nearest ship of the Confederacy. Danny realized that he needed to end everything sooner. The Republic was starving and suffering from poverty, but it learned how to fight.

Then Phantom sensed something - an intrusion in the hanger. Grievous was passing near him, so Danny called his name, making the cyborg look at him.

"There are guests in the hangers. The Jedi," he informed.

"Hm, let them come. So was Dooku's order."

Danny hated being in shadows. What was more infuriating is that it was not like Grievous at all to let the Jedi be killed by anyone else. There was definitely something bigger going on. Phantom thought hard about what he had learned. A Sith Lightsaber in the Chancellor's office, the creation of Moffs, centralization of power and creation of Imperial-like ships. All of this done by one man, who was sitting on his place for far too long. The Chancellor himself.

Phantom went back inside the hall. He was going to get the answers. He saw Dooku near the Chancellor. They obviously had been conversing. Their eyes bolted to the young man, who jumped from the second floor to the first, right near the two.

"You were told to wait outside," Dooku said harshly.

"I'd respect the one who did most of the job more," Palpatine responded.

"I'm afraid you are defending me in vain, Chancellor. I have a question."

"What could you possibly need from me? I'm bound by legs and hands."

"Your mouth is enough. Tell me. Do you recognize this?"

Phantom reached to his belt and took what stunned both Dooku and Palpatine.

"I found this pretty thing in your office," Danny activated the crimson blade. "Makes me wonder, you know?"

"I don't know what you are talking about," Palpatine responded. "For everything you could be lying about where you have found it."

"Then why asking you instead of presenting it to the entire Republic?"

"Enough, Phantom," Dooku said. "Give me the weapon, I'll find a proper use."

He outstretched his hand, but Phantom wasn't going to comply.

"So you could return it to its owner?" Danny looked at the Chancellor.

The tension was interrupted when the doors slid open. Two familiar Jedi stepped inside the room.

"Why is it always you two?" Danny asked, shaking his head.

"We just happened to be nearby and get invited to the party," Obi-Wan responded.

"I suggest you be careful," Chancellor called from behind the two. "These two are Sith Lords," he said, making Danny look at him.

"Are you sure you can count to three, then?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Don't worry, Chancellor, the Sith are our speciality," Obi-Wan smirked.

"I am not a Sith," Danny deadpanned.

"Then stop fighting for Dooku!" Anakin urged. "He is using you, can't you see it?"

The war had been going for three years. Over the course of them he had come to a big level of respect towards the ghost. His Master shared his opinion. They viewed him as a truly honorable man and a kind person. On several missions to the Protectorate, undercover, they saw how people adored their leader and were happy to be even under his dictatorship. He made their lives better than under representation of the corrupt senators and their own greedy rulers. But the Jedi also saw Phantom as someone being tricked by Dooku, who was obviously cruel and manipulative.

Speaking of the old man, the Count realized that if Phantom changed sides, all would be lost. Both for him and the Confederacy. He could overpower the Jedi, he did it once, but if the being of such power went against him as well...

"Master Skywalker, you cannot debate with the enemy!" Palpatine shouted. "He is a wanted criminal for everything he has done!"

"Maybe if you grant him mercy, Chancellor..." Obi-Wan started.

"He's kidnapped me!"

"I need no mercy," Phantom interrupted. "Neither it is for anyone here to decide. I obey to the laws of only one state. And before it I have done nothing."

"Protectorate obeys to the laws of the Confederacy," Dooku noted.

"When was the last time you visited my lands? Protectorate follows the laws written by ME. And why are you saying this? You want to imprison me now? Try it. The second you do that my guns will turn upon you."

No one expected such reaction from the stark haired man. It was way too harsh and abrupt change of behavior.

"Please, relax, my friend, it is not the time to fight with each other," Dooku said.

Phantom took a deep breath. He then looked at the Jedi. Obi-Wan smiled at the younger man, he knew he would make the right choice, he felt it.

"They obey the Chancellor, they will surrender you to the police once this is over," the Count continued.

Danny gripped his lightsaber. "So be it."

No one could expect what happened next. It happened so quickly and as fast as lighting. Dooku gasped as the lightsaber pierced his chest. He moved, but it went deeper. The old man screamed in pain as his torso was being sliced in half. With his blurring vision he saw and heard Phantom.

"This is for my betrothed, you bastard," he whispered, before taking the blade out, activating the second and swiping them both, chopping the head off.

The corpse of the Leader of the Confederacy fell on the ground. Everyone stared in disbelief at what they had just witnessed. Phantom panted and deactivated the swords. He felt a hand on his shoulder, before seeing Obi-Wan smiling at him.

"You've made the right choice, my friend. After everything is over..."

"It is too early to thank me, Ben. You will soon hate me."

"Why?" Anakin asked, sounding upbeat. "You killed the biggest bastard in the Galaxy!"

"Congratulations," Palpatine said dryly. "So, is anyone going to free me?"

"Of course, Chancellor," Anakin came to him.

Obi-Wan meanwhile was confused. Why Danny looked so gloomy?

"What's wrong?" He asked in concern.

"I have a request. Take the responsibility for him on yourself."

"Oh, okay, what for? It can help you get pardoned for everything before."

"I am not joining the Republic," Phantom said firmly, to the surprise of everyone. "This is what I meant when I mentioned your possible hatred. The Confederacy will not surrender. And then everything will get much worse for the Republic."

"So that's what all of this about?" Palpatine asked mockingly. "To gain power in the CIS?"

"Yes. And no," Danny regained his composure.

"You...you cannot continue the war!" Anakin exclaimed.

"I can. But I assure you, it will be quick. Now go, I don't care about the outcome of this battle."

"Are you not going to imprison him?" Palpatine asked.

"Daniel, please, think it over," Obi-Wan tried to reason.

"This Republic is dead, Obi-Wan!" Phantom exclaimed. "You haven't seen what I have! I won't let people suffer under this bloated Goliath any longer."

"The Republic has flaws, Daniel, but it does not mean that you should side with corporations who started it in the first place."

"I'll get rid of them, don't you worry about that."

"And the army? The fleet?"

"You are asking too many questions, my friend."

Ben sighed, and Anakin looked saddened.

"There will be no going back after that, Daniel. After that, you will be executed if you lose."

Danny chuckled. "Then I'll try not to. If I lose, at least try to remember me as who I really was, not what others would say."

He smiled and vanished.

The Republic won the battle. It was a triumph attributed to many heroes of the day. Everyone celebrated the victory, and even the clones were praised for their effort. But not the Jedi, and it was of little surprise. What was a celebration in the Republic, was a mourning in the Confederacy. Grievous managed to escape the fight, and flee to unknown direction. But all the while two Jedi were wondering about what happened aboard of Invisible Hand. But they went through with the promise, and attributed Dooku's death to themselves. It felt shameful to accept gratitude.

"Take this appointment lightly, the Council doesn't," Master Yoda said to Anakin standing in the middle of the room. "Disturbing is this move of Palpatine."

"I understand."

"You are on this Council, but we do not grant you the rank of Master," Windu declared the decision.

"What?" Anakin asked in surprise. "How can you do this? This is outrageous. It is unfair! How can you be on the Council and not be a Master?"

"Take. A seat, Skywalker," Windu gestured at the chair.

Grudgingly Anakin sat on a chair.

"Interested in more details, we are," Yoda continued.

"Phantom is nowhere to be found," the hologram of another Master replied. "Just as did General Grievous."

"It is strange," Windu mumbled. "The first would surely want to usurp power. He has enough popularity and military might. His forces have survived the battle. Why is he not on Raxus Prime?"

"Plotting something, he does," Yoda mumbled.

"Grievous is still a temporary leader of the CIS. We should concentrate more on him," Obi-Wan said. "But I didn't like his words at all."

"Addressing all peoples of the Empire."

The Emperor's words were broadcasted everywhere, in all kinds of communication. The citizens could only watch, or simply listen with close and undivided attention. Phantom was dressed in a garment as white as his messy hair, with black pants and belt. He was speaking on a tribune, with a huge crimson Imperial banner, in front of his legion, kept in a tight formation. Danielle was standing near him, also listening to her father. Ahsoka preferred to stand aside, despite the offer.

"Never before could we guarantee the future. Neither can we now. For eight years our country has been a shining lighthouse for every being in the Galaxy. We have granted them a place to call home. We have shown them the light of prosperity, the light of true freedoms and civil rights. I am proud to lead such a glorious nation, I am thankful for your trust, and I will be honored to lead you even further with your consent. Our Empire stretches across half of the Galaxy, and it happened only thanks to you and the ideals we follow. The tyrannies of the West have fallen, but our main enemy was not on this side of the Galaxy."

The members of the Imperial Council watched the hologram standing in the room's center.

"We do not want further wars. But we are forced to. The Galactic Republic has been that lighthouse, but now its light has dimmed, and instead of showing path to a haven, it leads only to a ridge of sharp rocks. Their senators are like sirens, luring you towards that same obstacle, promising you the prosperity of the Core Worlds, but instead bring you the poverty of the Outer Rim. We must end this facade. It is our noble duty, our obligation to fight to the end!"

The image was seen in every Terran TV, and everyone in cafes, offices and households listened.

"To us comes the hour which will determine the fate of the Galaxy and our Fatherland. Soldiers, do not think that you are fighting for Emperor Phantom. But you are fighting for the country granted to him! You are fighting for the future of your children, for their lives in a better world. We shall defeat that colossus on clay legs, for I have faith in those who have brought all these lands under one banner!"

The garrisons at the far fringes of the Empire were looking at the small screens of their communicators. So did the other legions, to whom the message was read.

"We will be feared by them, we will be hated. We will face the resistance. But those Republican dogs have forgotten how to fight long ago! Even their war has barely taught them anything. The Empire possesses the fleet which won't let them even leave their planets, our superiority is absolute. We shall not relent. We shall fight them wherever the destiny would take us. We shall fight them in the planet cities! We shall fight in literal pieces of hell! We shall fight them in the frozen wastelands! We shall fight them with broken bottles if we will be out of weapons, but we will never back down! For when the Galaxy is plunged into an era of darkness, we will be the ones carrying the torch, no matter how hard our enemies will try to extinguish the flame in our hearts!"

"The Republic will feel the sour taste of utter defeat. The Imperial Army shall bow to no one, we are the ones who choose our path! The enemy will be broken, for our deed is righteous! The victory shall be ours! The Empire is law! The law is sacred! For the Empire!"

The loud, deafening cheers were the response. His daughters stared at the greatest hero of their lives.

His loud finishing yell was heard all across the Empire, and it would ring across the Galaxy.

 **A.N. You cannot imagine for how long I wanted to write this speech.**


	62. Chapter LXII: The Empire has come

The outskirts of the Republic rarely witnessed any activity. Not even the Confederacy paid attention to them, because the systems they guarded didn't have any vital importance. Yavin four was such an outpost. The Gordian reach - a rather large sector wasn't yet attacked by the Separatists, at least not massively. But the Jedi held their positions on the moon of gas giant Yavin, full of tropical forests and the Dark Side. It used to be one of the Sith strongholds, and even now many artifacts were being found.

Through the corridors of the orbital station walked a Jedi - a Master. Behind him was a group of clones, guarding the person they hadn't expected to see in that place. There was a figure in Mandalorian armor, painted in green and yellow, with traditional helmet and jetpack. The main problem, the person was only thirteen.

"How was I supposed to know what that thing were?" Boba exclaimed.

"You were smuggling Sith artifacts, Mr. Fett. Furthermore, your last name is on the list of wanted people," Master Kit Fisto replied, looking at the datapad. "Smuggling, murder attempt, prison escape..." he whistled. "Quite a lot for a thirteen years old."

"Like I should care what you think, Jedi," the boy spat.

Fisto sighed, his big pitch black eyes staring on the ground. Boba meanwhile glanced to the side, on the lower side of the female officer passing nearby.

"Eyes in front," the clone pushed him lightly.

"Hey, is this how you treat siblings?" Boba deadpanned. They all were clones of one man.

Suddenly Kit sensed something. Something powerful. He gasped and put a hand on his forehead.

"You alright, sir?" The clone trooper asked.

"I sense something..." The Jedi approached the large illuminator.

The darkness of space seemed to be undisturbed. But then, in a split second the hyperspace hurled the ships of all kinds: cruisers, corvettes and even dreadnoughts, which had been recently stamped in the Star Forge. Immediately they opened fire, and under a torrent of blasts the entire station shook. The Star-fighters flew past the windows on quick speeds.

"What the heck?!" One of the clones exclaimed.

"Those are the ships of Protectorate," Fisto commented, before scrutinizing his eyes. "Give me binocular, quick!"

The clone obeyed the command and tossed the device to the Jedi. Fisto zoomed closer to the ship, and symbols on the ship made him freeze in shock, disbelief and terror. The arrowed hexagon meant only one thing.

"The Sith Empire has returned."

The station shook again as the fighters made several shots at the window. "We must warn the Republic!"

"We will give you cover, sir. You ship must be able to outrun them."

"I need the hyperspace ring. It must have been damaged."

"Well..." all eyes darted to Boba. "The fastest engine is on my ship, and it has hyperdrive," he grinned. "Free me and I'll get you out."

They didn't have other options.

The ships just kept coming, the Republic didn't stand a chance against one ship, much less a solid fist of the Empire's might and pride. As the Jedi and his group ran through the corridors, he realized that all connections were being jammed. He needed to get out of the system first. It was hard to even comprehend that the country defeated four millennia ago would return, and at such horrid times. But where is the Empire, there is an Emperor. No, he was dead, that much was solid.

The Imperials had landed by using special ships, which pierced through the hull, allowing the soldiers to come out. The Stormtroopers immediately started attacking everyone at their sight who could resist. The main attack came to the control room, so no bastard could launch a self destruction. Same applied to the generators. Fisto himself saw that unlike the Empire of old, there were many alien races he had never heard of, one especially large armored being was throwing the clones around like rag dolls. He couldn't help everyone, they had to get out of that battle.

The group ran through the last corridor to the hangers, when they heard shooting behind them. The Jedi and the clones ran forward, while Boba saw two pistols lying on the ground. He picked them up and spun around. The incoming Stormtroopers didn't expect the attack at first, so Boba started shooting, killing several of them, but when they understood the trap and got behind covers, the boy switched on the jetpack and lunged backwards, behind the closing doors. Everyone stared at him.

Then they saw a landing shuttle descend to the ground.

"Prepare the engines, Fett," Fisto said.

"I don't need to be told twice. I'll be leaving in two minutes. You either come or do not. I don't care."

Boba flew to his ship and ran inside. Meanwhile the shuttle doors opened. Two men emerged from the inside. They activated the lightsabers - one white and one red. It was a Human and a Sith.

"Surrender, Jedi," The Sith called. "You are no match for an army of the Emperor."

Fisto activated his green blade. "The Sith will never rule the Galaxy!"

"Maybe not," the Human called. "But the Emperor will."

They lunged at each other.

The similar attacks happened all across the border of the Republic, and all posts of the country were conquered in silence. It was merely the first step. While the Republic was in confusion at loosing communications, before they found out it would be a certain while. And in that short amount of time while no one knew about the Imperial invasion, Phantom was going to attend the emergency session of the Separatist Senate. He realized that he would have no second chance. So he needed to be careful.

Danny was waiting outside of the rooms, expecting the perfect moment to enter. And when it came, he opened the doors with a thunderous sound. The senators could only watch as the most famed general of the Confederacy entered the hall, accompanied by a group of black armored soldiers. They warily glanced at the weapons in their hands. The regal look of the youngest person in the room made them watch.

"What's the reason of such interruption, General?" The speaker asked.

"An obvious one, good sir," Phantom responded. "The country is in turmoil after Dooku's death. Our fleet is lost and the Confederacy is on the verge of dying. And that's why I am here."

"What do you offer?" Mina Bonteri asked from her seat.

Danny gave his mark smile. "Salvation. I have dedicated my last three years to our cause. And I am not going to let everything we did to go in vain. Do you want this?"

Multiple shakes of the heads were his answer. Phantom took it as a sign to continue.

"You have been discussing the terms of surrender. I heard it quite well behind the doors. Many of you would rather to save their planets from the possible retaliation. I cannot blame you. I am ready to relieve all this burden from your shoulders. And all responsibility for the actions. Surrender is not an option. You never had any saying in the matter, anyway, all power belonged to the Council and Dooku."

"You have been a part of it!"

"Yes. I was. But not anymore. While these cowards are hiding in some god forgotten world, I stand before you. I am ready to face the Republic. Tomorrow, it will commence an attack. We have gambled and lost, and we are about to face the consequences. Let's face it, Dooku acted out of his own interests. The Confederacy was but a tool for him to achieve power. I have a suspicion that he has been working for Palpatine's ascension, but it is a mere guess I'm not forcing you to believe."

"It is against the law for you to appoint the leader," Danny continued. "But it is what I ask you to do. Grievous is a general, not a politician. He is unfit for this task of leadership. The Council will be against it. But I have an army not seen before, I have a fleet many times bigger than that of Confederacy. Just allow me to use that resources and I shall bring you victory."

"This shall be the end of our democracy," someone whispered, and Danny heard it.

"After all of this is over, a new Senate shall come. It will play a big role nevertheless. I always had people's interests in mind. So, I hope you will make the right choice, respected Senators."

At these words the Death Troopers clicked the preserver. It was the most obvious hint at what would come.

"All in favor of giving Daniel James Phantom the Supreme leadership of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, say Ai!"

Mina was the first to rise from her seat with a raised hand. "Ai!" She spoke loudly. Her support for the young man was unwavering.

Many other senators did it on their own volition, for it was Phantom who saved their holds many times before. They believed in his prowess. They believed in their leader and their last chance. There were some who did so only because of the gun pointed at them, but they were a pitiable minority. Danny smiled at the applause he received. Everything was going according to the grand plan. Only a few more steps towards the domination.

"I shall succeed where you failed, father," he mumbled.

The Republic learned about the appointment less than an hour later. It caused many debates within the Senate, many believed in peace, including Senator Amidala. She knew Danny in person, after all. She hoped it would be possible. The Chancellor, however, seemed very antipathetic to the man. The Jedi Council seemed to agree with Palpatine at least on something. Padme knew that Anakin disagreed with them, just like Obi-Wan did, but there was little they could do, despite them both being a part of it.

"Lord Phantom is but a power hungry warmonger," Palpatine called. "Do not let his appearance fool you!"

"Why such aggression, Chancellor?" Senator Organa asked. "You have never reacted this way until he gained power."

"Because it wasn't until Phantom killed Dooku when I realized what he really is."

The ghost anticipated such move of the Chancellor. It didn't work on the people of the CIS. They would rather believe their leader than the crumbling old man they resented. For everything, it could be another Republican lie.

"We must not..."

Suddenly a loud banging sound was heard, and into the huge spheric room, to the special seat belonging to the Jedi Council's representatives, went Kit Fisto, who was walking only with the assistance of his fellow Jedi. Everyone wondered about the reason. The Jedi rarely visited sessions of the Senate at all.

"Attention! Please, hear me out!" Fisto coughed.

"What's the reason, Master Jedi?" Chancellor asked.

"We...we are under attack across our entire border!" He exclaimed.

"The Confederacy no longer has the resources to..."

"It is not the Confederacy!" Fisto leaned against the edge of the tribune and took a deep sigh. "The Empire is back!" He yelled.

It caused a gasp to erupt all across the Senate. Someone even fainted.

"This is ridiculous!" Was a response from several senators.

"It is truth. Try to contact the border provinces, soon they will come for your planets!"

"Chancellor!" Padme called loudly. "We must sign peace treaty now!"

Her statement was supported by many of her colleagues. The Republic was unable to fight off such a powerful threat on its own, if the new Empire wasn't any weaker than the last one. Fighting against the Confederacy in addition would make everything even worse for the Republic. Palpatine's lips thinned.

"To whom should we send the offer? To Grievous or self proclaimed Head of the Confederacy?" He asked.

"Phantom can be persuaded. He has support of the people."

"We will try to arrange the meeting, but don't expect a miracle."

Phantom sat in the office which used to be occupied by the Count. It was such luck that no one yet touched it. He got his hands on all communications made from that room. And to say that he was shocked by the information he received would be an understatement. He was faced with a dilemma of either publishing it or not. The Jedi needed to know about this. And there were only two people in the Order he could trust with that information.

The following few days had a lot of things and an exhaustion of his nerves. The process of the Protectorate's integration began, and the legionaries were in charge of maintaining order. People were indeed scared, and they saw that Phantom's forces did not do anything to repel them. It caused a massive confusion, but since the soldiers of the Empire did not do anything nasty, they calmed down eventually. The Imperial advance was merciless, and no negotiations happened. Except only of terms of surrender.

Finally, Danny was summoned before the Council. He knew it would happen eventually. He was supposed to come to Utapau - a planet in the Outer Rim. He arrived there not a moment too late. But not without his soldiers. He was accompanied by the legionaries of his own, distrusting the droids made by the same people who wanted him dead. So, there he was, going down the crater city of the locals.

The droids were all along the way. Standing on watch. Danny was greeted by Tion Medon. He was a male Pau'an and the Port Administrator of Pau City. A gaunt, gray-skinned humanoid, Tion Medon wore elaborate red robes and carried an ornate staff of office. The man bowed to the stark haired man in white cloak, which covered everything inside but head.

"Greetings, Lord Phantom. What do we owe a pleasure?"

"I came for the meeting."

"Ah, of course," Tion nodded. "Follow me."

They went through the city built on the wall of the sinkhole. Phantom was curiously looking around.

"I thought you were neutral in the war."

The Pau'an nodded slightly.

"We are being held hostage. Please, help us," he whispered.

Danny's eyes widened slightly. "I'll do what I can," he responded just as quietly.

Tion nodded in gratitude. Soon Phantom was led to the Council chamber. One wall was completely absent, leaving a nice view to the deep and dark pit. There were quite a lot of droids, about sixty, Danny's contingent was two times lesser. At the long table sat the members of the Council. Grievous was standing by side.

"Well, good day, I guess," Phantom said calmly, stepping before the Confederacy leaders.

"We didn't call you here for pleasantries!" Nute Gunray snapped.

"You think you can just come and steal everything for yourself, Phantom?!"

"Ah, just what I expected to hear," Danny rolled his eyes. "At least I am doing SOMETHING. The Republic has breached our defenses. Soon they will be on Raxus."

"The Republic has called off their forces. The resurgence of the Empire played into our hands."

"You have a strange sense of usefulness," Phantom responded. "You think that their Emperor will spare you? You are way too naive."

"And you?" Gunray snorted. "At least we control the galactic corporations. Our wealth is enough for him to be interested."

Danny barked a laugh. "Believe me, you won't live to see that moment. All your money are going to be confiscated and you shall be executed for your crimes."

"How do you know this?"

Phantom shrugged. "Maybe I know him," he smirked.

"What?!"

Danny's smirk became a full blown grin. He then began laughing.

"Fools. You were merely simple pawns in that chess game. Has it never occurred to you why I possess such a formidable force even without your pathetic droids?"

The Council stared at him in fear. It could be read in their eyes. Gunray was about to order the droids to attack, but Phantom was first. They heard a whirring sound.

"Have you really thought I'd come here unprepared?"

Several fighters were flying in front of them, their guns pointed at them from the windows.

"One shot and I will obliterate this entire building."

Grievous stepped forward. Everyone prepared their weapons, because the cyborg possessed the lightsabers on his belt. He dwarfed the now revealed the Emperor, although it was obvious who would come victorious out of the fight.

"If you shall fight against the Jedi, I'm ready to step out from my post and serve you."

He then bowed before the ghost, much to the furthering horror of the Council members.

"If you obey and kill only the Jedi I need, then I shall accept your oath," Phantom responded.

Grievous rose to his feet. He knew that Phantom was far more successful than the Master he had served. He had more power, and in but several days he managed to ruin all his plans. Besides, Phantom did help his home world, and he had shown himself to be quite a warrior. The cyborg nodded.

"Wh-what do you want, Your Majesty?"

"I demand control over all remaining droids."

"You can have them!"

Danny looked at the machines. Some B-1s rubbed the backs of their heads.

"You sure?" One of them asked.

"Yes!" Some of the members said simultaneously.

"Very well," Danny dusted his clothes calmly. "But let's check their loyalty. Droids, kill all at that table."

Their command was clear, and the droids could not disobey. Before the corporate leaders could do anything, the room was filled with multiple screams of pain and horror. A few seconds later, they were all dead. Now, nothing threatened Phantom's absolute control over the Separatists.

"I want this to be broadcasted to both droids and the entire Confederacy," Danny told Grievous.

Grievous nodded. "Understood."

Phantom turned around. "Regroup with my forces in the coordinates I'll send you. You shall conquer Corellia. I'll make sure to...clean up what you have done by now, but try not to commit any more war crimes. Everything you do reflects on me from now on. The Republic knows about our current location, so I would have hurried if I were you."

With that Danny left the room. Damn, it was good to be an Emperor.

The reaction on the Galaxy was just as controversial. On one hand, no one pitied the murdered slime bags. On the other, it showed how far Phantom was going to go in his race for power solidification. Suddenly, Danny received the message. Of invitation. He was offered to make negotiations with the Republic. Phantom was in two minds about agreeing on this, but eventually he decided to go. He had to talk to the Jedi, and two of his friends were supposed to be the part of the meeting.

With each day the terror grew, for anticipation was worse than what what followed. Step by step, ruthlessly and methodically the Imperial armada smashed the Republican soldiers like children. Day by day, planet after planet fell into hands of the Empire. Even Mandalore pledged the allegiance to the Emperor, and many clans followed. And not a single sign from the Emperor himself. It was clear that this one didn't seem to be eager to negotiate anything but complete surrender. Or maybe it was the same person, no one knew.

To say that it was unexpected would be an understatement. The Head of the Confederacy landed in the capital not as the enemy, but as someone to talk to. But desperate times required desperate measures. Danny was followed by HK, and that was basically all his protection. The crowd was huge, as he was being led inside the Senate building. The Republic's only hope was on that negotiations. If they failed, the Republic would be as good as dead. Danny almost felt bad for fooling them like this. Almost.

Once inside, he was greeted by the Chancellor. Palpatine didn't seem to be happy about meeting Phantom, but they had no option. The old man pulled on a smile in the entrance hall of the Senate.

"How unusual the situation has become," he commented, before outstretching his hand.

Danny shook it, but he could easily see what was hidden behind the welcoming eyes of the old man. Jeez, did he hate him. The cameras were flashing around.

"You do realize that Coruscant is the last place we should hold a meeting on?" Phantom asked, returning his hand under the cloak.

"Where else?" Palpatine raised his eyebrow. "So far it is our most defended planet."

"And the biggest target," Danny mumbled.

"Surely a man of your power can defend himself," the Chancellor rolled his eyes.

Then Phantom caught a glimpse of two familiar Jedi standing by side. Now the ghost smiled slightly.

"Still don't hate me, Ben, huh?" He asked.

"What for?" Obi-Wan smiled. "You have come here after all."

"Yes. I did."

The Jedi noticed a strange tone in his voice. It confused him, but Phantom needed to go further. The ghost was given a tribune to speak inside the Senate, he was led through the posh corridors straight to the point. He had to wait until everyone took their positions before entering. Danny smiled again, before looking back.

"You seem to be following me everywhere," he commented.

"Well, you yourself asked so," Skywalker responded. "What's the matter?"

"I have found something in Dooku's plans. Have you read the emergency orders?"

"Ehm...no, why?"

"There is such a thing...Order 66. Shall the Chancellor issue it, the clones will turn upon you."

"That's ridiculous, how could they..."

Suddenly Anakin's eyes widened in realization. Obi-Wan seemed to have come to the same conclusion.

"Fives..."

"What?" Danny raised his eyebrow.

"He tried to warn us long ago..." Ben rubbed his chin. "He never managed to explain it properly before his death."

"Convenient," Phantom responded. "And by whom?"

"The Coruscant security."

Danny rolled his eyes. "And they obey to whom?"

"The Chancellor...are you saying..."

"I'm not implying anything. My gut is telling me that that guy is not to be trusted. Never in my afterlife."

"With such atmosphere we will never reach the agreement," Anakin said. "Try to do it at least now. The fate of entire Galaxy is at stake."

"Oh, I know it better than all of you do."

Finally it was time for Phantom to enter the most wretched hive of scum and villainy in the Galaxy. He was standing on a tribune, but the Chancellor spoke first.

"Today we are hosting a meeting with General Phantom, I think no introduction is needed."

"Yes, I think it is not."

Danny walked forward. The Chancellor's seat was in the middle, on a separated platform many meters above the ground. Everyone stared at the display of flight ability. They knew he could do that, but it was still astonishing.

"What I do not get is why we are holding the negotiations here," Phantom said cooly.

"You are way too demanding, Phantom," Palpatine noted.

"It was a mere confusion, as to why would a sneaky bastard like you do this. To let everyone hear my opinion of you?"

"We are faced with grave danger," Padme put in, "Please, calm down. If we do not agree to cooperate, we will be conquered."

Danny crossed his hands. "I still see this as a pointless bickering."

"Is it not what you have been fighting for, or so you say?" Palpatine asked. "Freedom? I doubt that this Empire will leave you?"

"Funny. The last sentence was said by me to Gunray," Phantom deadpanned. "My relationship to that state is rather peculiar, actually. After all...I used to be an heir of the Eternal Empire."

A massive confusion and loud gasps were heard across the huge room.

"Valkorion has been dead for millennia!"

"I possess something he never truly had," Danny grinned, looking over the senators. "Immortality. Besides, I had several chats with the Master of Time himself. And he can bend it to his will."

"What an exaggeration."

"Stopwatch hears you, actually," Danny shrugged. "Our relationship has been rocky as of late, but hey, during our first meeting he almost killed me. I doubt that you have forgotten what all of you have seen during that fight of mine. Who did I fight? Myself. Truly. It was me. Should I have made one wrong choice, he would come to exist instead of me. You may not have seen difference in anything but appearance, as we both took part in destruction. But I do know. The choice was made, and Clockwork allowed me to make it just right. I have walked down the path from which I will not stray away."

"As much as we all would like to hear this story," Palpatine interrupted. "Please, stay on topic, General."

"I thought you would like to kick me out the second you learned about my ancestry."

"I will be willing to close my eyes on this," The Chancellor rolled his blue eyes. "Although that story is unlikely to be true."

Phantom simply gave him a look. "For someone in a loosing position you are way too brave, Chancellor. Or would you rather me walking out of that door?"

Palpatine noticed a multitude of looks from the senators. Yes. He needed that peace. Danny was not done.

"Your terms are long since over," the ghost continued. "It's not the Old Republic where the Chancellor could reign for unlimited amount of terms. The Clone wars were awfully convenient for you, were they not?"

"How dare you, a dictator, speak to me like this."

"I am the monarch of several planets and the entire plane of existence. So I guess being dictator is the least of my problems. But you do not believe me. Well, soon you will. You want peace, Chancellor, but what else do you want?"

"For now...we are ready to recognize the CIS independence..." Palpatine said without enthusiasm.

"I am not satisfied with 'for now'," Danny floated to the Chancellor's eye level. "How do I know that your guns won't turn against us? I was put in power by the Senate. And thus I represent what they need."

His words did magic on Raxus. Of course the senators there were more than satisfied with the answer.

"I do not want our soldiers' lives to have gone to nothing," Palpatine responded.

"So now you are openly saying that you WILL turn against us afterwards."

"Please, General," Senator Organa put in. "Do not let the prejudice ruin everything. We need this alliance."

"Do you know the difference between the offer and begging, Senator Organa?" Phantom raised his eyebrow. "While begging you ask me to do something while I don't want to."

Danny took out a small datapad from inside his cloak. "From what I know you are a part of 'Delegation of two thousand', Senator Organa. Just as, you, Miss Amidala, are. I am not the only one within this hall who is concerned about Palpatine's ambitions. Hardly. Creation of Moffs, his continuous usage of emergency powers, who is a dictator here, Palpy? Speaking of, most of the Moffs are loyal to you only. Strange decision for someone who is about to be relieved of his duties."

Whispers broke out within the Senate.

"You are loved by your people, Chancellor," Danny smiled. "For what, can you clarify?"

"The fight against corruption, for instance," someone said.

"Oh, how funny of you to say this, Senator Taa," Danny pressed a few buttons, glancing at the fat Twi-lek. "You were the one to nominate Palpatine on his position. Care to tell what these two pretty Twi-lek ladies near you are? Free people?"

The named women looked away.

"In three years of me being in charge of Ryloth I have done more than anyone. You won't find many slaves of your race on the markets. Tell me, where have you gotten the apartment worth hundred times your monthly payment? The full list shall be published. On everyone being in this room, for my eyes are everywhere. My race can turn invisible," Danny smirked. "And I am their King."

"Interesting corruption cases you have, Palpatine. Most of them are the people who were against you. Yet here sit the senators who support you and remain on their places."

"I am not aware of such doing," Palpatine responded. "If you give the list, they shall be punished equally."

"Then make me the Chancellor!" Danny laughed. "If I have done more than you. All these cases are visible, you haven't even lifted a finger. The representatives of the Trade Federation still remain here. Just like other corporations! You have been fighting them for several years and they still defend themselves. You have to be a fool to believe that Gunray and his alikes were simple renegades. Where have they taken factories? Broke they piggybanks?"

Obi-Wan couldn't help but snort. He looked at his friend, seeing that Anakin was watching Danny with wide eyes.

"You have control over the banks, now. ALL power in the Republic belongs to you now, Palpatine!" Phantom exclaimed. "And I am not negotiating until all of you now who the man leading you is. Because this 'alliance' will fall apart quickly as long as there is a weak part in the chain. I won't point at Palpatine and tell what it the weak part."

The Chancellor had to think quickly what he should do. It was time, he decided, seeing as Phantom finally returned to his tribune. It relieved him that some boos were heard.

"Not to mention other things. I have sent this information to the news agencies which are not yet under your control, oh wait, pardon me, 'state ownership'. By the end of this day all Galaxy should know who you really are, what my Intelligence has been gathering for years. Of course, with proofs, otherwise no one would..."

Danny heard a beeping sound. It was low, but Phantom was able to catch it.

"Seriously?" He asked.

Then an explosion happened. The tribune was blown apart, killing the senators who were unlucky enough to be nearby. Loud screams and gasps filled the building. The place of explosion was filled with smoke, but it soon dispersed, giving a shocking sight at the survived ghost. Phantom looked at the damage, floating where the seat used to be.

"Pathetic," he commented. "I told you I am immortal, Chancellor."

"Are you accusing me of this?" Palpatine exclaimed. "Has it not occurred to you that the Empire wants us to hate each other more?"

"Take away the dead before debating," Phantom crossed his hands. "Jesus."

The nursing droids arrived, moving the dead people away. Danny remained calm. Among them, only one was innocent. Was he getting cold? Maybe. But they got what was coming to them.

"Now. You have fallen lower in my eyes, Palpatine. Do not try to blame the Empire, I know perfectly fine of its doings. You are not the one to lead the Republic at such times. The Sith cannot rule it."

The first part of the phrase was sunk by another. Many simply did not remember anymore what the Sith were.

"Again this baseless accusations," Palpatine responded. "This is not a Court!"

"Maybe. But are they baseless, really?" Danny smiled enigmatically. "If only there wasn't such a peculiar conversation within Dooku's database. Mind showing it?" Phantom handed the flash drive to the nearest intact Senator. The shaking man nodded and put it inside the input.

A hologram flashed. Of Dooku and a cloaked man with only visible chin.

"Everything that has transpired is going according to our plan, my dear apprentice," the cloaked person said.

"Yes, Master. Our fleets are nearing Coruscant. The end will soon come."

"Repeat what you should do."

"We strike, distract the defense forces, so we would be able to kidnap the Chancellor."

"That's right. Next."

"We do not leave the planet until the end of the rescue."

"Indeed," the Cloaked man cackled. "Let the Jedi come. After this I shall play my part, and try not to ruin it, Tyranus. After this is done, my grip over the Republic shall be solidified. They will surrender everything to me, to their beloved Chancellor."

The transmission was over. The lights turned back on, but the Senate was silent. The entire Republic could not believe what they had just heard. It must have been a montage.

"Where is he?"

The seat of the Chancellor was empty. No one now doubted, and many people gasped.

"As I said, full version is on the news," Phantom stood at the Chancellor's tribune. "Palpatine was the one to instigate this war! As Dooku was his mere puppet."

More whispers broke out in the building. Meanwhile, beneath the hall, the red robed Chancellor ran through the corridors, as sneaky as possible. He couldn't let himself get caught. However, once he turned the corner, he saw a group of Jedi, led by Master Windu.

"Chancellor Palpatine, under the authority of the Senate, you are under arrest," Windu said, activating his lightsaber.

"I AM the Senate," Palpatine growled, as his hands sparked with electricity.

Above the ground Phantom still was in the center of attention.

"What now?" Someone asked.

"I'll tell you," Danny responded. "If you fight, you will be obliterated, as the orbit will soon be filled with an army of unstoppable amount. If you bow before the Empire, you will be spared for being the enemy, although corrupt. That is another issue for the Supreme Imperial Court to solve."

"You are not saying..."

"Your safety is guaranteed!" Phantom raised his voice. "Just like the lives of all soldiers opposing it. You have my word, as the Son of Emperor Valkorion, the Supreme commander of the Imperial army, and its Emperor."

And yet again, the room was silent.


	63. Chapter LXIII: Finale

After the speech, the Emperor simply left. Not before hearing the shouts and pleas. They fell on deaf ears as Phantom demanded only one thing - unconditional surrender. The speech of the monarch was an ultimatum, not an offer. He made it clear that if he couldn't avoid deaths, he would take what he wanted by force. Did the Senate have many options? No, they had only one - to surrender. Many were against it, but pretending like nothing was going on was foolish. The ghost really surpassed his father - he needed twenty eight years to conquer half of the Republic. Phantom took two weeks to conquer its entirety. If he was to one day confront Valkorion in the past, he would brag with it.

The Jedi Order didn't know what to do. The Imperial Garrison was yet to arrive, in order to sign the Republican capitulation. Phantom himself didn't wait for long before leaving after hearing the decision. Anakin honestly was not surprised that the Council feared that all of that kindness was a ruse of the New Emperor. But Coruscant was untouched and it probably wouldn't. Yet another difference from his infamous parent, as no one questioned him anymore. The youngest member of the Council had another thing to worry about, and although he was an Emperor, Phantom had his respect. If he was what he seemed to be, Anakin would even support him. But there was another issue.

"Something concerns you, Skywalker?" Windu asked.

"Nothing. It's nothing," Anakin mumbled.

Obi-Wan meanwhile was thinking as well. He was more cool-headed than his friend, so once the Jedi Masters suggested finding a way of killing the immortal, he remained silent. The mid aged Jedi dedicated his entire life to protecting the Republic and its democracy. Now everything was going to be ruined in but a single day of the Emperor's triumph. That's what Phantom meant when he told him about hatred. The Jedi never hated anyone, as it was the path to the Dark Side. Yet, there was a feeling of betrayal.

In a short break before the arrival of the Imperial forces the lively debates in the Senate were going on. No one could recall them being so loud and chaotic.

"To order, to order, please!" Bail Organa shouted loudly.

With Palpatine gone, the place of the Chancellor was vacant. It was a questionable honor for the famed orator. To be the last Chancellor in history of the Republic. Because people had little doubts about the future disbanding of the Republic's governing body.

"There is little we can do now," Organa called. "Corellia has fallen to the hands of General Grievous and with it our biggest shipyard. He has pledged an allegiance to the Empire. Neutral systems are flocking under the Emperor's rule. Which one of you is mad enough to continue the fight? There is no use in more deaths."

"We are not the Republic of old," Amidala added. And her words were filled with sadness. "We have no power to resist such a force led by such a person as the Emperor."

It made many silent. Padme was faithful to the cause of democracy, she despised all forms of authoritarian regimes. For her to surrender truly meant the end. But she was not going to surrender, in fact, she was going to have a conversation with the monarch. No matter what. Amidala grunted slightly, before moving her robe to hide her bloated belly.

Palpatine escaped. He turned out to be a very powerful Sith, overpowering the Jedi accompanying Windu easily. Only the Jedi Master himself was able to beat him. But the old man found an escape route and disappeared in the large ecumenopolis. They were searching for the runaway Sith, who was humiliated, who had dedicated half of his life to nothing. The Empire of his own was not going to come to life.

As for the people of the Republic? The controversy still lived. But they were too tired to fight any longer. They wanted peace, no matter from whom it came, even if it was Devil himself.

The day came. It was surely a sight to see. It couldn't be anything less, the Emperor's proclamation as the ruler of the First Galactic Empire should have been remembered, so even thousands of years ago people could not only see, but feel the moment, the turning point of history, how the most powerful state came to existence. Many expected it to be a coronation. But they didn't know the customs of the Romans the Emperor tried so hard to follow. They never wasted their time for such ceremonies, they only celebrated the triumph.

The path to the Senate lied through a very long and wide road. It was perfect for the ceremony. The Imperial Star Destroyers were in the air, and the Imperial soldiers stood in firm square formations, proud of what they, and their ruler achieved. And then the thunderous orchestra started playing the music proper for the event - loud, happy and triumphant. They were managing something magnificent, which took an incredible level of concentration - marching and playing at the same time. Before them and behind went first two cohorts, each carrying big standards of the Empire.

People around wondered where was the star of the event, but the Emperor didn't show up until the loudest part of the music began. Unlike the cohorts, going in squares, by two sides from him marched the Imperial Guards in their crimson armors. As for the Emperor himself, the sight of him was truly breathtaking.

He was riding a pitch black chariot with golden trimmings, with the sigil of the Empire engraved on a transport which had no wheels, instead moving on repulsers, floating half a meter off the ground. What was moving the chariot - those were the best horses Terra had to offer. Four white stallions were a stunning contrast to the dark vehicle, and yet they fit the one who was riding it.

The Emperor was not alone. In the chariot also stood the princess. Her carefully combed snow hair were tied in its usual ponytail, her white, green and black dress was flowing along the wind. The girl was curiously looking around with her neon eyes, standing in front of her father, holding the front edge of the chariot with her small arms.

Her father was standing in his full pride, for everything that has happened was only because of him. From no one he became everything. From the broken teen who lost everyone he loved he became the man who now could have whatever he wanted. To shape the Galaxy to his will. His posture spoke of the true Majesty the Emperor possessed, and his bright light was seen although it was a clear and bright day. The shine was blinding and those who believed in their Lord's divinity only got their thoughts reasserted. His stark hair were going along the wind, his chin was raised nobly as he was looking forward with his neon eyes, occasionally glancing at his amazed daughter, seeing people around who marveled at his sight. In his right white gloved hand was a golden scepter, with a hawk on its top. His left was holding the edge of the chariot. His cape was waving behind as a pearly white sail, and his head was crowned with a glistening ice laurel wreath.

Roman triumph implied that the triumphant was supposed to be followed by the conquered, but the Emperor was followed by the members of his Order. Their march was different, for even if they did wear black and white armor, their nature implied different things. So, instead of rough Stechschritt, it was more smooth, without leg raising.

Above them, the fighters flew, spraying out the Imperial colors.

As the procession approached the Senate's building, the cohorts in front surrounded the building. The Emperor stopped near the front, where the delegation of the senators was waiting. Even the Jedi Council at large was present. The monarch was the first to step down from the chariot, before taking his daughter's hand and helping her get down the transport. The girl quietly thanked him, and together they went up the stairs. Once they were near the delegation, Dani was at loss what to do at first, so she shyly stood behind her parent.

"I'm glad you made the right choice," the Emperor said quietly to Bail.

The temporary Chancellor nodded. "We don't want war, Your Majesty."

"Neither do I," the stark haired man smiled, before looking at the small green alien. "Master Yoda."

The leader of the Order nodded in greeting.

"I'd like to share some words with your Order afterwards," the Emperor tapped on the scepter. "We have a lot of issues. Just relax, I'm not going to start the second Jedi Purge."

Never could Yoda imagine everything happening like this. Almost nine years ago he couldn't even imagine that that playful boy who was running away from them could lead to the Order's defeat so easily. Then the alien's eyes turned to the girl near him. They all knew the Emperor had a daughter, and she was going to inherit everything her father had achieved. From whom and how she came to be no one but the monarch and his FarFrozen subjects knew. The Jedi mostly thought that her father was going to make the girl just as sneaky and manipulative as him. They refused to see the one in charge of the Empire as something but this. But her Force potential was astonishing at such age. Once she grew up her power could rival her father's...

"Nervous?" The Emperor whispered to Dani, and several people nearby heard it.

"A bit," the ten years old answered. "So many people..."

The man smiled softly, shifting the scepter in his hand. "Quite a lot, yes. And there are trillions of others whom you don't see at the moment, my little princess."

"But..." Dani looked up at her father. "Running from this will not do any good. They are your people now. Once they get over the initial fear, and even from now, they are your responsibility just as mine. After all, the former Republic shall be ruled by you."

The girl's eyes widened. The senators stared as well at the smirking man.

Finally the soldiers stood at their positions. At that moment, crimson banners of the winning state were unrolled down the roof of the Senate. Five hundred meters long banners. From now on and forever, that was their place. Then the Emperor hit the ground with the scepter several times. It got the public's attention.

"I am not a huge admirer of fancy coronations," he said. "So we will just skip that part, as it had already happened when I took leadership of the petty state in a god forgotten corner of the Galaxy. Look where it has gotten us," the man smiled. "It seems I have fulfilled my promise given during our victory on Babylon. The greatness I have assured you of...now you can see that my promises always come to life."

"Do not fear for your freedoms, citizens. Think of me as the Chancellor who occupies the office for the lifetime. Because basically that's what the Empire is. One man, no matter how extraordinary he can be, is not enough to rule the entire Galaxy. While the entirety of the newly proclaimed galactic state shall still abide by the Imperial constitution. Several additions are yet to be made, but one thing for certain - the Imperial Senate should come to life."

No one expected such move from the Emperor. Both Organa and Padme watched him with wide eyes.

"Two Houses shall play the law issuing part. One of them is the Senate. The second being the Imperial Council which has been working since my ascendance to power on my initiative. You don't have to fear oppression, you don't have to fear censorship, for we are the Empire of peace. But it has to be maintained through the power of arms if needed. We will not put our guns. Forty four years, ladies and gentlemen. It is time given to us to prepare for something horrific."

"From another Galaxy to us come the invaders. They have no place to retreat to, as they had already pillaged their own. Their voyage has lasted for thousands of years. And I have come to realize that only united we shall be able to repel the invaders. It was one of the reasons we are currently here. We must prepare, but until then, take a breath and rest, you have deserved it. You have something to say?" He asked gently and looked at Dani.

The girl was surprised at first, scared even, but unexpectedly, she nodded. Slowly she moved towards the microphone, floating slightly above the ground, so she could speak in the device. She had been taught well, everyone thought.

"Uhm...hello?" Dani started shyly. "I...I am Danielle, the Princess of the Empire. You...you don't know me, I think, but I'd like to get you better. I hope we can find something what we have in common, so we could work together without many problems. I promise that I will do my best..."

The girl glanced at the smiling man. He couldn't hold back his adoration.

"And make my father proud. Because only because of him I came to be."

The speech was short, but the people shared the Emperor's emotions. It was touching to see such innocence in the soon to be Empress of the eastern part of the Empire. She was simply adorable. It also implied other thing. Such child could not exist if her parent was something but kind and gentle. Danny scooped his girl and kissed her forehead.

"Did I do well?" She asked.

"You did wonderful, sweetheart, I love you."

"I love you too, Daddy."

The Emperor smiled broadly, before moving his scepter holding hand closer to her.

"Give me the honors?" He asked and Dani understood what he meant and nodded.

Together they raised the scepter in the air, and at that moment they earned the applause. And it became clear that the Emperor already had people's support. Like father, like daughter.

After the ceremony the Emperor stood in the center of the huge hall of the Jedi Temple. All members of the Order currently present on Coruscant stood or sat around, starting from the aged Masters and ending with the last Youngling. Dani was also there, sitting on the edge of the parapet, swinging her legs.

"I'll be honest. It would have been easier to dispose of you," the monarch started. "But easier does not mean practical or moral."

"What do you want?" Windu asked sharply.

"I am making an offer. Your Order has stepped out of line long ago, so it needs a little...cleansing? No, not the best word. Anyways, Master Fisto has witnessed how I see the Force using soldiers."

The Jedi Master grunted. "They do pack a punch. Barely made it," he told. "Thanks to that Fett kid."

The Emperor froze. Dani gasped. She suddenly appeared near the Jedi and even scared him because of how quick it happened.

"Where is he?" She asked.

"Eh...I don't know, he must be on Coruscant at the moment..." Fisto wasn't sure how to react. "Why do you..."

"They are friends," The adult ghost explained. "Have been a while before certain Jedi beheaded his father." He looked at Windu.

"Jango Fett was a criminal. It was either us or him."

"Doesn't make you less guilty in terms of law. And his opinion of you. Find him," the man looked at HK.

The droid nodded and left, making many Jedi sigh in relief.

The Emperor proceeded. "I have both the Sith and the Paladins serving me. The latter follow the path of balance I myself practice. The first see me as their divine deity. My offer is for all of you. Whoever wants to join the Paladins is welcomed."

"Do you think we will let you take whoever you want?!" Windu exclaimed.

The ghost smiled evilly. "First, I'm merely offering to join. Rather hypocritical of children kidnappers tell me this."

The younglings shifted, while Dani moved away from the Jedi.

"Two, it is not for you to command here, Sam Jackson. I'm giving you this right instead of taking everything. What differs my Order from yours? We don't separate families, our adepts can marry, or live together with their parents, depending on age. When the Force User is revealed, but doesn't want to join, we teach them how to control the power, before letting them roam the Galaxy however they want."

Anakin listened very closely.

"Reckless it is, turn to the Dark Side, they may," Yoda responded.

"I wonder why they haven't," the Emperor deadpanned. "Your Order should remain only to keep balance with the Sith. Paladins don't disrupt it in any way. Many live happily. Like a certain girl standing behind that column."

Anakin didn't know what to expect. But he surely wasn't prepared for that.

"Ahsoka?" He asked in astonishment.

The teen smiled, taking off the white hood. Ahsoka smiled.

"Hello, Anakin. How have you been?"

The Jedi was at loss.

"Hey, Ahsoka!" Dani waved.

The teen smiled at her sister. "Hello, kiddo."

"They know each other, too," it was explained before the question was asked. "All in all, the life among the Paladins will be much more fulfilling than the life here. If you want to sign up, Ahsoka shall remain here for a week. And if I find out that you are holding someone back...you will lose all autonomy you might possess. You may still recruit. You will be forced to compete and improve, because you may take in the people only with their content. Or their legal guardians'. Also...I need the access to the archives."

"Not up to debates, this matter is," Yoda shook his head.

"Oh, I will find a way, whether you want it or not. So you better do it willingly."

Suddenly the Emperor noticed something with a corner of his eye. Anakin was talking through the communicator, and the younger man's eyes widened. He ran off on the neck breaking speed.

"Skywalker! Where are you going?" The ghost asked loudly.

"I have to go! I'll be back!" Anakin shouted, not stopping for a second.

The stark haired man raised his eyebrow.

"We should continue later. Danielle!"

The girl jumped and flew off after him, before landing on her feet beside her father.

Somehow they managed to get in front of Skywalker. The ghost stopped him near the entrance.

"What's. Wrong."

Anakin stopped dead on his tracks, suddenly getting an idea.

"You can teleport us, right?" He asked.

The stark haired ghost rubbed his temples. "Everything for the friends, I guess. Where do you need to go?"

"Galactic Senate Medcenter."

Now that was unexpected. "I guess there is no point in asking. Hold tight."

Dani grabbed her father's shoulders, while Phantom in turn put a hand on the Jedi's. They were whisked away, to the facility beneath the Senate building, where the reception was. Luckily the ghost had visited the place before.

"And again so much white," he muttered and shivered as the girl jumped off him.

Anakin meanwhile ran to the receptionist.

"I need to know where Senator Amidala is," he told the lady near the terminal.

Phantom raised his eyebrow. What could he possibly...ow.

"Are you invited?" The lady said in a dry tone.

"Yes, I was called and was told she is giving birth! Let me in!"

"Sorry, but you..."

"What my friend here is saying," she immediately froze at the sight. "Is that he really needs to be there," The Emperor smiled, patting Anakin in a friendly way.

"O-of course, Your Majesty. You may go."

They were admitted inside and told where she was at the moment. The lady watched them until they turned the corner.

"So that's what all of this about," The stark haired ghost snorted as they kept receiving shocked looks. He smirked. "Someone is going to become a Daddy unknowingly for the Order?"

"Your jokes are inappropriate," Anakin all but growled.

"Your fear is understandable. Each parent faces such things. Except for me, but I am special," Phantom kept smirking, pulling his daughter closer with one hand.

"Daddy, where do babies come from?" She asked.

"We are not talking about this," the man kept his expression.

"You don't understand...I...had visions. In each one of them Padme was dying."

The Emperor's expression changed to a serious one. "From what?"

"I...don't know. That's why I'm scared. She is more than healthy, why would she..."

"We will make sure it doesn't happen. My healing abilities are more than enough to sustain her if something happens."

"You would do that?"

"That's what friends are for," Phantom patted the shoulder again.

"Annie!"

"Jar-Jar," Anakin responded without enthusiasm at seeing the amphibian. "Where is Padme?"

"She's behind the door," the Gungan answered and pointed at the door. "What hesa doin' here?" He asked, looking at the Emperor.

"I'm helping. Dani, wait outside and don't enter," the ghost said, receiving a nod from the child, who jumped on the nearest seat.

Two men entered the operational room, where Amidala was laying on the operational table, surrounded by droids.

"Annie," she moaned in exhaustion.

He immediately went to her and kneeled near the bed. "I'm here, Padme, don't worry."

"What..."

"Your dearest...husband, I take it, was rather paranoid, so I offered my abilities in order to prevent you from dying," the ghost smiled innocently, stepping to her from the other side. "If something goes wrong, I'll step in."

The operation began, filled with what usual birth implies - screams of agonizing pain. Padme held dearly for Anakin's hands as the droids did their job. Phantom was observing with patience, ready to immediately leap into action. Of course, he did step in when the hardest part came, he, along with Anakin, used the Light side to ease the pain. Finally, the babies were taken from the mother's womb.

"It's twins, ma'am," the droid reported. "A boy and a girl."

Amidala's eyes were already full of tears, but now they were that of happiness. She was there with her beloved and she just had two children.

"How should we name them?" Anakin looked at her.

"Luke...and Leia."

"Wonderful names," he leaned forward and kissed her. Then he looked at the ghost standing nearby.

"Thank you."

"For what? She was not under threat at all," Phantom smiled. "Well then, my job here is done. Farewell, and congratulations."

With that the ghost left the room, feeling strangely. Yes, it was his duty and his burden - to give others what he could not possess.

The Emperor dedicated his entire evening to celebrating with his family. Just him and the girls, on a warm beach of Scariff. The sun was setting, and the waves were hitting the coastline, void of any life but them, in a wooden house. They sat on the white sand, enjoying the beautiful view, with Phantom wearing casual T-shirt and jeans. Both Ahsoka and Dani were sitting near him. And Danny couldn't help but smile.

"I did it," he mumbled, not believing everything that had happened. "I actually did it."

"Of course," Ahsoka smirked. "Could it be other way, Dad?"

"I can name millions of moments when it could go wrong," Phantom rolled his eyes.

"But it didn't, Daddy," Dani leaned against his shoulder.

"Yes. Although without your support nothing would have happened. On different stages I had different people on whom I relied for help. First my friends and sister, then your mother, and finally you. Thank you, kids. For everything."

The girls hugged their parent with love and affection, and Danny did the same thing. "You too," they both said.

The sun slowly set over the planet, but it rose over the entire Galaxy.

A.N. Well, what is there to say. I'm proud of myself. I've spent a year working on this story. It's the longest I've made and probably will ever do. But it wouldn't have happened without all kind and warm reviews and comments you were writing. Because they are the thing which always keeps me going. Thanks a lot, guys, I appreciate it. It's been a true pleasure. As for the sequel, don't expect it soon, maybe in the Autumn, I have to live through university applications.


	64. Important message

I finally made a sequel, so you know. Just informing you guys, love you all.


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